Habitual. Art.
Painting & Drawing
Volume 23 March/April 2020 www.artdictionmagazine.com
Pro® Premium Black Mask pH Neutral
Pro® Artist Tape 11 Colors White is pH Neutral
Paint Straight Lines - Professionally! Whether you’re masking, hinging, adhering artwork, working on a mural or canvas, Pro Tapes® offers a comprehensive selection of premium adhesive tapes for your medium. To find a distributor near you or to become a distributor, please email Steve Espinal, Graphic Arts Market Manager: sespinal@protapes.com
www.protapes.com
800-345-0234 ext. 133
ArtDiction is a platform for artists to display their work and a resource for the habitual art lover.
Staff
Devika A. Strother, Editor-in-Chief devika@artdictionmagazine.com Isabella Chow, Associate Editor bella@artdictionmagazine.com Phillip Utterback, Staff Writer phillip@artdictionmagazine.com
Contributing Writers Belle (Martha) Heppard, M.D. Devin Melching Adit J. Pinheiro
Devika Akeise Publishing assumes no responsibility for the opinions expressed by authors and artists in this publication. Š2020 of Devika Akeise Publishing. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.
artdiction_magazine
artdictionmag
FEATURES 12 A Push Towards Abstract
Using rural South Africa as his backdrop, Ryan Hewett paints portraits that play with geometric shapes and flirt with the abstract.
22 The Nostalgia Behind Colored Pencils
Do colored pencils give you the “warm and fuzzies”? We explore why we’re so sentimental when it comes to this basic art tool.
24 Thought-out Realism
Eleanor Mill is a thoughtful graphic artist and watercolorist. She incorporates her love of design, history, and architec- ture in her work.
40 Figure Drawing: Everything You Need to Know
Every artist strives to master figure drawing. We provide a few tips.
44 A Real Sense of Place The work of Adrian John is featured here. His art will give you a sense of place.
Cover photo courtesy of Eleanor Mill.
52 Watercolor Batik Belle (Martha) Heppard, M.D. provides insight into the world of Watercolor Batik.
In Each Issue 5 small talk 6 news 8 bella’s books 10 music 11 exhibits 54 artist & ad index Photo courtesy of Adrian John.
©2020 by Devika Akeise Publishing
ArtDiction | 4 | March/April 2020
small talk
©
I
hope this issue finds you safe, well, and healthy amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic. Although major art evets around the world have been cancelled or postponed, there is a silver lining. Artists (known to almost always need solitude to create) are spending their hours sculpting, designing, writing, composing, choreographing, painting, drawing, recording, and more. And we get to be on the receiving end of it. We just have to open our minds, eyes, and ears to it. Without art during this international crisis, we wouldn’t be able to find our favorite deejays spinning records until the late hours of the night helping us relax, dance, or party in our homes. Without art, we wouldn’t have hours of binge-worthy television programs, movies, and documentaries to help pass the time. Without art, we wouldn’t have that book on our shelf (perhaps collecting dust?) that we now have
the time to read. And just maybe, that person with only a passive interest in the arts will begin to see its value and become an avid art lover, supporter, and advocate. I’m proud to oversee a publication that does its part to take advantage of a digital presence where we can continue to present art to you from the safety of your home, wherever that may be. I know you will enjoy our Painting & Drawing issue that features the work of Ryan Hewett, Adrian John, and Eleanor Mill. Take special note of our exhibit section that lists several galleries that allow you a virtual experience into their exhibits. Leaf through these pages and discover tips on how to master figure drawing, reflect on the nostalgia of colored pencils, and learn about watercolor batik. Let art be your escape. Stay safe.
ArtDiction | 5 | March/April 2020
Ryan Hewett
news Vincent van Gogh Painting Stolen in Overnight Raid A painting by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh was stolen in an overnight smash-and-grab raid on a museum that was closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, police and the museum said on March 30. According to the Singer Laren museum east of Amsterdam, “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” by the Dutch master was taken in the early hours of Monday. By early after- Van Gogh painting stolen from Dutch museum closed by virus. noon, all that could be seen from the outside of the museum was a large Emergency Relief Grant for to ten artists, but the COVID-19 crisis white panel covering a door in the Women Artists Over 40 prompted her to launch the emerbuilding’s glass facade. gency relief grant in addition to the Artists can be of the first and perhaps yearly award. Museum General Director Evert van most deeply impacted by economic Os said the institution that houses the hardship. During this time of crisis, Her initiative is an example of how collection of American couple William that may be even more true when other existing funding programs could and Anna Singer is “angry, shocked, other factors such as race and class rework their missions to serve those sad” at the theft. are considered. A new emergency in urgent need. Today, the Women’s relief grant, launched by Anonymous Center for Creative Work (WCCW) in The work was on loan from the Was A Woman in partnership with Los Angeles, California announced Groninger Museum in the northern the New York Foundation for the Arts it would adapt its 2020 Emergency Dutch city of Groningen. Van Gogh’s (NYFA), seeks to address two of these Health Grant, offering a shorter form paintings, when they rarely come up factors—gender and age—by supportapplication and a rolling weekly deadfor sale, earn millions at auction. ing women artists age 40 and older line for $1,000 awards. Police are investigating the theft. who have lost income or opportunities due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Low-income artists who work in any “I’m shocked and unbelievably genre or medium, who identify as a annoyed that this has happened,” said The new grant will distribute a total of woman, as trans or nonbinary, and/ Singer Laren museum director Jan $250,000 in funding, up to $2,500 for or as a person of color, who live in Rudolph de Lorm. “This beautiful and each grantee, to eligible women-idenLos Angeles, Orange, Riverside or San moving painting by one of our greattifying visual artists in the US and its Bernardino Counties are eligible to est artists stolen - removed from the territories. apply,” the WCCW explains. community,” he added. “It is very bad for the Groninger Museum, it is very A report by the National Endowment The application for Anonymous Was A bad for the Singer, but it is terrible for for the Arts found that as women age, Woman’s grant will be made available us all because art exists to be seen they earn less and less than their on April 6 at 10 AM EST and remain and shared by us, the community, to male counterparts. By the time they open through April 8. Funds will be enjoy to draw inspiration from and to reach ages 55 to 64, they make only awarded to eligible applicants on a draw comfort from, especially in these $0.66 for every dollar male artists first-come, first-served basis, and they difficult times.” make. “In many cases, women over will be notified of their funding status the age of 40 carry additional stress by April 30. More information can be The 25-by-57-centimeter (10-by-22as caregivers for both children and found on NYFA’s website, here. inch) oil on paper painting shows parents,” said Susan Unterberg, a person standing in a garden surfounder of Anonymous Was A Woman, rounded by trees with a church tower in a press release. Cleveland Museum of Art Receives in the background. Gifts Valued at More Than $100M Unterberg has traditionally funded an annual unrestricted grant of $25,000 The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) ArtDiction | 6 | March/April 2020
news has announced that it had received a gift and a promised gift from a local couple of more than 100 Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modern European and American paintings, drawings and prints and other coveted works intended to enrich and transform the story it tells of the history of art. Valued at over $100M, the gifts from Joseph P. and Nancy F. Keithley include 97 works donated outright and 17 that are promised. A major exhibition comprising the majority of gifts is reportedly planned in the fall of 2022 along with the publication of a catalogue. William Griswold, the institution’s director said that the combined gifts are the largest to go to the museum since 1958, when the philanthropist Leonard C. Hanna Jr. made a $38M bequest (today valued at $300m) that has financed dozens of art purchases at the institution over the last six decades. Some of the highlights of the Keithleys’ outright and promised gifts he cited are a landscape by Braque, The Port of l’Estaque, the Pier (1906); a still life by Caillebotte, Chickens, Game Birds and Hares (around 1882–“It’s like Chardin meets Manet, a very cool thing,” Griswold says) and Pissarro’s Fish Market (1902). There are four works by Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, two each by Milton Avery, Joan Mitchell and Félix Valloton and striking individual examples by Picasso, Matisse, Andrew Wyeth, Vilhelm Hammershøi and Henri-Edmond Cross. The donations also encompass Chinese and Japanese ceramics, including contemporary examples of the latter, that will bolster the museum’s Asian holdings. “It fills some interesting gaps,” Griswold said. “We had small holdings by the Nabis, for example, and this adds 25. The other thing is that it creates not only a possibility for new juxtapositions and dialogues but gives us depth in the work of individual artists.” He added: “We had no landscape and no still life by Caillebotte–now we have both.”
Additionally, five paintings by Bonnard donated by the couple boosts the museum’s total by the artist to nine, he notes. “It’s important to understand how rare it is for us to accept a gift of so many works from a single collection,” Griswold added. “Ours is primarily a collection that has been assembled one gift or purchase at a time.” He said that Joseph Keithley, who formerly led a company that manufactured advanced electrical testing instruments, and Nancy Keithley, who became a trustee of the museum in 2001, had consulted closely with the CMA in amassing their collection over the last two decades. “Their yardstick always was, ‘Was it good enough for the Cleveland Museum of Art?’” he said. Around 18 months ago, the couple asked the museum to compose a list of everything in their collection that the institution wanted, “and it was virtually everything,” Griswold says. “Then in November they came to my office and said they’d been thinking about it a lot and wanted to give us everything on the list.” “I think the Keithleys really saw it as a gift not only to the museum but to Cleveland.”
Patrick Devedjian
were short-listed for the €100m restoration works of the barracks built by King Charles X in the 1820s, which will house it. The new site and its research center was due to open in 2025. Pierre Rosenberg, an 83-year-old academician and former director of the Louvre, has pledged to donate his collection to the new museum. Devedjian, a man of art and culture who was a member of the Musée du Louvre board, was the driving force behind the project which, with the current financial crisis, may now be called into question. His successor might have to agree to continue with a museum that could bear Devedjian’s name, a suggestion that has been made by the project’s director Alexandre Gady.
Patrick Devedjian—the Driving Force Behind New Museum Dedicated to the Sun King—Has Died of Coronavirus
Gady, an architecture historian who left the Sorbonne University to lead the new museum, says he last met Devedjian after a board meeting at the Louvre on 13 March. They went together with Pierre Rosenberg to the museum’s laboratory to examine a painting by Poussin that had been proposed as a donation by a collector from London.
Patrick Devedjian, a prominent French politician, died of Covid-19 at the Antony hospital near Paris on Monday, Marc 30. He was 75 years old. Devedjian was the head of Hauts-deSeine, France’s wealthiest district, and was a leading advocate for a museum dedicated to Louis XIV’s reign in SaintCloud, west of Paris. The future of the project is now in doubt. An 11,500 sq. m, 19th-century army barracks in Saint-Cloud, built by King Charles X in the 1820s, has been chosen as the site for the proposed museum. In March, three companies
Himself recovering from coronavirus, Gady underlines the personal involvement of Devedjian in the museum project. He says that since January, Devedjian has been pushing for acquisitions of paintings, drawings and sculptures to complete the 600 paintings that make up the core of the new museum’s collection. Gady fell ill with his wife upon their return from the recent Tefaf fair in Maastricht, where he made several purchases. Loans from the Louvre and Versailles for the future museum are also currently being planned, Gady says.
ArtDiction | 7 | March/April 2020
books The Resisters By Gish Jen Gish Jen’s The Resisters depicts a future United States, dubbed AutoAmerica, where climate change and convenience culture have resulted in a waterlogged surveillance society. The lower Surplus class live in AutoHouses (or AutoHouseboats) and accumulate a kind of currency in the form of Living Points, which they earn from consuming the creations of the Netted, the producing upper class. All the while, the Surplus are subject to the watchful eye of Aunt Nettie, an ever-present version of the internet that doubles as a ruling power. Like many other dystopian novels, The Resisters can be read as a cautionary tale. However, while the book has a lot to say about the general pitfalls of investing in a consumerist society, it more specifically demonstrates how the dream of class ascension in such a society is a cruel and complicated beast, and it does so through the most American of sports: baseball. The story focuses on a Surplus girl named Gwen, whose extraordinary pitching ability gives her a chance to level up in life. (Though two of the main characters are young people, the book is written for an adult audience.) Much of the book’s rising action is tied to the question of whether or not Gwen will use her baseball talent as a ticket to attend college, a privilege not normally afforded to the Surplus, and possibly eventually “Cross Over” to the Netted class. The book is narrated by Gwen’s father Grant, a former teacher who is racially categorized as “coppertoned.” His wife Eleanor, a lawyer of mixed Caucasian and Asian descent with a history of advocating on behalf of Surplus citizens, has twice been invited to Cross Over but refused,
thereby becoming a “resister.” Dedicated as they are to solidarity with their fellow Surplus, Eleanor and Grant have mixed feelings about Gwen going to college and playing baseball for a Netted team, but they encourage her to explore her choices. Gwen’s burgeoning success in the sports world is complicated by her friendship with Ondi, another mixed-race Blasian (Afro-Asian) girl who has her own ambitions where baseball and higher education are concerned. It soon becomes clear that the opportunities afforded to Gwen come at a price, as does being female and Surplus in baseball, which in AutoAmerica is a coed sport but still largely male and Netted. Pressures to conform to Netted norms when in Netted settings are great, to the point that a skin lightening procedure called PermaDerm is available for coppertoned people who want to appear “angelfair,” the whiteequivalent designation that applies to most of the members of the Netted class. Ondi, who lacks the social currency and stability Gwen’s pitching skills bring her, appears to be more willing to conform to expectations at times, but also more prone to spontaneous acts of rebellion, which creates tension between the two. The plot points built around their struggles don’t just draw obvious parallels to racism in American society in general, but also raise questions about how adequate and meaningful current diversity and inclusion initiatives really are, especially when they focus on giving just a few marginalized people opportunities and then fail to change the hostile environments those opportunities put them in. The stressful, ultra-connected atmosphere of AutoAmerica is ArtDiction | 8 | March/April 2020
mercifully tempered by Eleanor and Grant’s countercultural habits: They avoid the “mall truck” food that would earn them Living Points, opting to grow their own vegetables and do their own baking. They home-school Gwen and teach her classic literature and history, rather than leaving her in the Surplus school environment, which prioritizes consumption over education. Through details like these, along with the presence of baseball itself—which seems relatively quaint in AutoAmerica—Jen effectively blends nostalgia for a mythical American past with the anxiety of a consumerist country forever reaching for the future, creating a society with new quirks that nevertheless doesn’t feel that dissimilar from our own. At times, the book’s worldbuilding gets in the way of its plot development. Grant’s narration can feel overwhelming as he fits tangents and backstory into the current timeline while dropping myriad product names (DeviceWatch, DisposaCloth, etc.). The names are there to illustrate a point about the ubiquity of branding, of course, but the flow of Gwen’s story occasionally loses its momentum in her father’s
books meandering references and exposition. However, this doesn’t stop the novel from arcing naturally to a satisfying, if sobering, conclusion. Much more than a cautionary tale, The Resisters feels like a generous space to sit with the sadder truths of our consumption-driven society. While it doesn’t shy away from the specifics of how a system lacking in basic humanity hurts people (and some more than others), it also shows faith that the forces able to overcome (or at least resist) such a system exist. Reviewed by Elisabeth Cook The Mercies By Kiran Millwood Hargrave It’s 1617 and a violent storm has claimed the lives of 40 fishermen off the coast of Vardø, a remote Norwegian settlement. Aside from a handful of elders, this amounts to almost the entire male population, leaving behind a devastated community of women and children. These women spend the next three years establishing a newfound selfsufficiency while navigating their immense collective grief. This matriarchy is interrupted by the arrival of Absalom Cornet, a God-fearing Christian and renowned witch hunter from Scotland. He is summoned by the King of Norway to bring the women of Vardø to heel once more, and to stamp out any lingering trace of native Sámi culture—its spiritualism and strong ties to the land considered an obstacle to establishing absolute reverence for his own God. With subtlety and tact, Kiran Millwood Hargrave explores the ingrained societal roles that define and separate us, with a particular focus on the trappings of gender and religion. Though distressed by their losses, the women of Vardø experience an unexpected liberty when forced to take over duties once reserved for men. Tensions already existed between those who followed Christian teachings and those who favored older
Sámi ways, but a code of tolerance made room for everyone’s beliefs. It is only with the arrival of Cornet, and his tyrannical insistence that everyone follow the rule of the Church—lest they be accused of witchcraft—that frays begin to show. The women are increasingly forced to declare their loyalties, independence crushed by the vise-like grip of resurgent patriarchy. Differences that were once accepted are now the grounds for accusation, trial and certain death.
Emotional beats hit at all the right moments, and the denouement is powerfully moving in its avoidance of anticipated tropes. The narrative is impressively fresh, especially as the author sticks close to the official version of events. There is great sadness in witnessing this once harmonious community turning on itself—the corrupting power of fear driving former friends to betray each other in desperate bids to secure their own safety. Among these women are Maren, a native of Vardø, and Ursa, Cornet’s new wife. The latter is plucked from the comparative splendor of a wealthy home in Bergen with all the grace and romance of a business transaction during Cornet’s journey from Scotland. Adjusting from life in a populous city in the southwest to the barren expanse of the icy north is no small feat, and through the two women’s blossoming relationship, Hargrave touches on the delicate task of bridging class divides, the pain of forbidden love and the quiet heroism of following your heart when daring ArtDiction | 9 | March/April 2020
to be different is enough to get you killed. In addition to presenting nuanced, multifaceted characters, the author skillfully evokes this particular time and place. Crystalline prose captures the raw power and awe-inspiring beauty of the landscape with equal fervor; the howl of the wind, the swell of the sea and the bite of salt practically leaping from the page. With such a vivid and transporting atmosphere, the reader remains fully invested in the story’s outcome, despite the sense of inevitable doom that comes with a novel inspired by true tragic events. The author does, in fact, manage to keep the reader guessing along the way to a surprising extent. Emotional beats hit at all the right moments, and the denouement is powerfully moving in its avoidance of anticipated tropes. The narrative is impressively fresh, especially as the author sticks close to the official version of events. The horror of witch trials—how they were used as a front to exert control and wipe out so-called “undesirables”—has been explored in fiction many times before. It is to Hargrave’s credit that The Mercies feels no less emotionally engaging, factually enlightening, thematically resonant and narratively compelling as a result. She breathes life into the experiences of those too often relegated to mere statistics. If history books define victims of such trials by their deaths alone, this author asks us to remember them for the lives and loves they fought to defend. Snyder debunks pervasive myths (restraining orders are the answer, abusers never change) and writes movingly about the lives (and deaths) of people on both sides of the equation. She doesn’t give easy answers but presents a wealth of information that is its own form of hope. - Reviewd by Callum McLaughlin
music Pitchfork Music Festival Slated for July 17-19, 2020
National Recording Registry Announces 2020 Entries
In spite of the development of COVID19, Pitchfork is still planning on throwing its 15th Pitchfork Music Festival scheduled for July 17-19, 2020 in Chicago. Pitchfork stated that they will continue to monitor as the industry, city, and health officials update largeevent procedures and will implement and communicate those procedures to ticket-holders.
IThe National Recording Registry was founded in 2000 by the Library of Congress to showcase the breadth and depth of American sound. Each year, 25 recordings are picked to be preserved for posterity.
“Pitchfork takes the health and safety of all our attendees and colleagues very seriously, and we have been closely monitoring the developments of COVID19,” the website stated. In the event that the festival is canceled before its commencement, all tickets will be refunded in full. For the full line up go here.
This year, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden called the selections “the ultimate stay at home playlist.” The entries, from a list of over 800 possibilities, include the original cast recording of the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof starring Zero Mostel; the 1978 disco classic “Y.M.C.A.”; Tina Turner’s 1984 pop hit “Private Dancer”; and a 1951 broadcast of a nail-biter of a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, with Jackie Robinson at bat. The
entries rang from a 1927 spoken-word recording made by Italian Americans in response to the execution of anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, to the rap classic Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, from 1992. Also included in this year’s list is the theme song to the beloved PBS children’s show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. New Releases Lyra Pramuk Fountain Experimental Jay Electronica A Written Testimony Rap Dogleg Melee Rock Porridge Radio Every Bad Rock Lil Uzi Vert Eternal Atake Rap U.S. Girls Heavy Light Pop/R&B
www.1-54.com/new-york/
virtual exhibits COVID-19 has brought the art world to a halt. But if you’re getting a little antsy and are craving for your art fix, here’s a list of museums that you can virtually visit courtesy of Google’s Arts & Culture pages. British Museum, London Want to visit the ancient Rosetta Stone? Here it is. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles This collection of European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European, Asian, and American photographs will take you back to the 8th century. Guggenheim Museum, New York Visit online exhibits like The LittleKnown Glass Works of Josef Albers and But a Storm Is Blowing From Paradise: Contemporary Art of the Middle East
and North Africa here and virtually take a tour the building here. MASP, São Paulo The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is Brazil’s first modern art museum. Go here for a visit. Musée d’Orsay, Paris Get up close and personal with the works of Monet, Cézanne, Gauguin, and hundreds of other French painters here. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Visit the best of contemporary art from Korea. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Take a look at American fashion from 1740 to 1895 and a collection of Vermeer paintings.
Pergamon Museum, Berlin Visit one of Germany’s largest museums and home of the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Greek Pergamon Altar. It’s right here. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Immerse yourself in the Dutch Golden Age if you feel so inclined here. Uffizi Gallery, Florence View over 156 pieces of art at this magnificent gallery. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Here is where you can find the largest collection of artworks by van Gogh, including more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters.
A Push Towards Abstract
S
outh African-born Ryan Hewett grew up loving to draw. In his early 20s, his interest in art moved to painting. He uses many geometric shapes in his painting, which he states is a new development in his art. “I used to work very directly on the canvas, really thick impasto works. I’ve been scaling my paintings back in the last two years to clean lines and selected sections of texture.”
Working typically with oil on canvas or Belgian linen, along with a mirror behind him for perspective, he creates art that explores contemporary portraiture and how it is pushed towards abstraction in a new way. Ryan uses rural South Africa as his inspiration. “It’s the perfect backdrop to work in,” he says. He admires artists like Matiss, Picasso, Bacon, Egon, and Doig. “I have an obsession with their practice, how they achieve what they do.” For more of Ryan’s art, go to http://ryanhewett.com/.
ArtDiction | 12 | March/April 2020
Cerulean Blue Hue, 2016 Oil on canvas. 160 x 140 cm
Male Linen Portrait, 2017-18
Terra, 2017-18 Oil on Belgian linen. 53.5 x 48 cm
ArtDiction | 15 | March/April 2020
Origin 1, 2017-18, Oil on Belgium linen. 210 x 153 cm
Madonna, 2017-18 Oil on canvas. 210 x 152 cm
ArtDiction | 17 | March/April 2020
“I have an obsession with their practice, how they achieve what they do.”
African Child, 2017-18 Oil on canvas. 155 x 154 cm
ArtDiction | 18 | March/April 2020
Figure #1, 2019 Mixed media on paper. 100 x 125 cm
Figure #2, 2019 Mixed media on paper. 100 x 125 cm
The Nostalgia Behind
Colored Pencils
By Devin Melching
I
f you were lucky enough as a child, you might have some very fond memories about receiving a box of brightly colored pencils. Maybe you got them as a birthday gift, or as a back-toschool supply. In any case, something about those colored pencils seemed awfully special. They felt so much more grown up than crayons, without the risk of staining that markers posed. They somehow reminded you of something a real artist would use. I thought the same thing about paint as a kid, too, but I could take my colored pencils with me wherever I went. And I did! As grownups, staring down a blank white page can give some of us serious anxiety. Kids, on the other hand, see that big blank space as an open lot to let their imagination run wild. There was nothing like seeing a bright rainbow of colors pop off a crisp white sheet of paper as you watched your creations come to life. Even coloring became a professional art with colored pencils. I spent hours making the pages of a coloring book as perfect as I possible could, getting in between every little line with precise detail.
All fun aside, something wonderful was happening as you spent time drawing with your colored pencils. Something you weren’t even aware of. Drawing exercises the right side of the brain. The right side of your brain is responsible for things like imagination, creativity, intuition, and empathy. Developing the right brain in childhood can help children grow up to be more resilient adults who are able to readily access their right brain qualities. The adults may even require less stimulation in order to feel satisfied, which can aid in preventing disorders like depression, anxiety, and addiction, to a degree.
Trying to get the longest shaving curl from a colored pencil in a hand sharpener was a great way to pass the time at home or in school.
Let’s not forget everyone’s favorite thing about colored pencils: sharpening them! Trying to get the longest shaving curl from a colored pencil in a hand sharpener was a great way to pass the time at home or in school. Crank pencil sharpeners offered the perfect excuse to get up from your seat in class. My grandparents had a crank sharpener mounted to the wall in a hall closet, which added an extra layer of fascination to the neat little machine. And did I ever flip my lid when my parents brought home an electric pencil sharpener. I’d sharpen my pencils just to try and fill up the little drawer that collected all the shavings.
The good news about colored pencils is that they are hardly a thing of the past. Many adult artists rely on colored pencils for their portability and versatility. Colored pencils can be used lightly for shading and soft effects, while firm pressure or layering produces bold lines. Several colors can be layered on top of each other for an extensive palette that fits inside a little box. They can also be used on a variety of surfaces, from sketchbook paper to canvas. Of course, you don’t have to be a professional artist to use them as an adult. If you’re feeling nostalgic, why not pick up a box of colored pencils and lay out a fresh white piece of paper, or try out an intricate adult coloring book. You might find that you rekindle a relationship with an old flame, even if it’s just with your pencil sharpener.
ArtDiction | 22 | March/April 2020
Thought-out Realism
G
raphic artist and watercolorist, Eleanor Mill, had a passion for art since her early childhood. Her parents encouraged her aspiration and gave her any art materials that were available at the time. “I spent hours at my desk experimenting with colour paper, pencils, paints and glue,” she recalls. “Moreover, I was lucky to be born in St. Petersburg, one of the best cities in Russia. Our famous Hermitage museum and other outstanding monuments of Russian history are just at hand.” Eleanor’s education is steeped in the arts. She spent three years at the Elementary Art Education at St. Petersburg Children’s Art School, “Alexandrino.” For her secondary education, she attended St. Petersburg BV Johansson State Academy Art Lyceum at the Russian Academy of Arts, Architecture department.
She obtained her higher education honours degree in Graphic Design after studying at Baltic Institute of Foreign Languages and Intercultural Cooperation from 2006 to 2012. Eleanor’s portfolio shows both detailed drawings along with realistic painting. She enjoys both; however, she admits that she doesn’t love both equally. “The graphic art is my real deep passion. It’s a pinnacle of all the art forms for me. I feel all the aesthetic sophistication in this media,” she says. “Senses sharpen and emotions intensified: concentration is drawn to the magic play of light and shadow, admiration for the form of an object. I can call it the deepest and the most sensual of the arts.” In most cases, Eleanor’s paintings begin with a drawing. “But if I work on plein air, I skip a preliminary
ArtDiction | 24 | March/April 2020
drawing and focus on catching the moment, my first impression from the spot. The precision is less important. I usually start my sketches straight with media (watercolour, ink, pastel...),” she says. In describing her artist style, Eleanor says: “In general, my style can be referred to as Realism. The main feature of my artwork is that the image doesn’t always correspond to reality. I can alter it a little.” She describes being inside the scene and feeling the world spatially. She doesn’t stand motionless. “I am astir. Each step changes the picture in my eyes. So, I try to collect these views in one. The perspective may not exist in real life, but the artwork makes no doubt in its accuracy. Maybe I need to call my style ‘the completed realism’ or ‘the thought-out realism’.” Eleanor incorporates architectural structures and buildings in her work. She says that buildings and constructions once created by people but now fallen
into oblivion have an inspirational value. “These giants towering over densely populated cities preserve the memories from the moment of their creation until the last stone drops off their walls. Houses and cities represent the dream of permanence but at the same time show that nothing lasts forever.” Cityscape is the main motive of my creative work, Eleanor says. “It expresses the flow of life, which is always in motion: it changes, falls into oblivion, and is replaced by the new. It is not a secret that the more highly developed a civilization is, the faster is the pace of life and the further away the past drifts.” She adds that her work is a balance on the edge of a coin with two sides. “This is the search for harmony between nature and man. Is nature against a man or a man against nature?” As part of her creative process, Eleanor goes hiking and live sketches as artists did in their Grand Tour
ArtDiction | 27 | March/April 2020
to capture the things that she admires. “Sketching while travelling is a special kind of exploration of a new space, a subjective opinion expressed by the artist through different styles and accents. An ordinary photograph captures the moment, and a work of art is an opportunity to view the world through the eyes of the artist,” she says. “Similarly, sketches represent my subjective opinion and capture my personal impressions. Then I go back to the studio and work on large formats, using a stack of sketches, which are best at retaining my emotions. The things that I create become a part of me.” Inspired by her travels and discovery of a diverse world with its people and culture, Eleanor believes that every city has its special portrait features, which an artist captures through his or her subjective opinion and displays to the audience. “I look for material that will express my emotions better at a given point in time and space. Back at my workshop, I reconstruct the image
bit by bit. Here I already work on my own reality, which I bring into being. I visualise my imagination: what if people disappear from a big city? How ephemeral are we before the hundred-year-old giants created by our fellow tribesmen? Do we complement the greatness of Nature?” Elanor is currently working on several series, including portraits of cities in Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Croatia, and Ruins. “There are many plots of United States, France, and Italy still hidden in my travel albums,” she says. “And I have an ambitious plan to make an ‘art expedition’ to explore the ruined abbeys of Great Britain. Stone by stone.” Visit www.melibertine.com to see more of Eleanor’s work.
ArtDiction | 28 | March/April 2020
“What if people disappear from a big city? How ephemeral are we before the hundred-year-old giants created by our fellow tribesmen? Do we complement the greatness of Nature?�
ArtDiction | 31 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 32 | March/April 2020
“These giants towering over densely populated cities preserve the memories from the moment of their creation until the last stone drops off their walls. Houses and cities represent the dream of permanence but at the same time show that nothing lasts forever.�
ArtDiction | 33 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 34 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 35 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 36 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 37 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 38 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 39 | March/April 2020
Figure Drawing: Everything You Need to Know By Adit J. Pinheiro
F
igure drawing or life drawing refers to the method of representational art that many professional artists go through to heighten their senses and skill-set. This is often taught in art schools/colleges to give students a strong foundation on the art of drawing. It is, by far, one of the harder forms of drawing because of the patience and the level of intricacy required. With that being said, it has a very large and growing fan base and serves as a primary foundational course for those looking to get into the world of art. Figure drawing improves observational skills and patience. It also heightens thinking and encourages deeper thinking. One of the other major benefits of figure drawing/life drawing is that it also encourages simplification. Artists are put in a situation where they have to observe a very complex design pattern
ArtDiction | 41 | March/April 2020
and have to simplify it before putting it on paper. Lastly, it also improves the reconstruction skills. This is another benefit of figure drawing and is a crucial skill for any artist. Drawing a nude artist may stretch your artistic skills a bit more than if you were drawing a model that is clothed. When a model is clothed the frame is invisible and this allows the artist to be more flexible when drawing the figure. When a model is nude, every detail needs to be addressed and the frame is very vividly clear, thus making it harder. Those drawing clothed models find it typically easier than those who have to draw nude models. This again returns to the point that the human body is a complex creation, and replicating it on paper is q.uite difficult. When it comes to figure-drawing a nude model, the time required also increases dramatically because of the attention
to detail that is required. Finally, imperfections in a clothed model are easier to ignore than those on a nude model. So how do you train your eye when drawing a model? Here is a step-bystep list to follow. Begin with studying your figures Follow what your eyes see and not what your mind says. Follow it up by drawing gestures This helps eyes establish where the top and bottom of the figure is at. Move on to the silhouettes This adds information to the presently vague frame that you have. Dive into the details Now that your eye is comfortable with what’s going on, zoom in on a particular area and start to get detailed. Focus on the highlights, contours and other subtle features At this stage, your eyes are open to seeing what can be added, that gives life to your figure drawing. But don’t get discouraged. You may be thinking, this is way too difficult. And you’re right. It’s difficult, but not impossible. Like anything else, it takes practice. Figure drawing unlike other forms of drawing requires much higher levels of patience and diligence. It also involves so many different concepts that it challenges artists to get outside their comfort zone. Drawing nude pencil sketch body shapes shadows involves taking into consideration proportion, colors, shadows, lines and angles, point-of-view, and most importantly, ensuring a twodimensional artwork looks like a three-dimensional one. Here are a few more tips and techniques to improve figure drawing. Ensure that your setup is right Newbies usually tend to forget about getting all the required tools before a drawing. Ensure that your easel is at a suitable height that’s comfortable for you. Also, hold the tool with a loose grip so that there is less tension on your arms and shoulders.
Do not focus too much on a single part There are many different parts in a figure, each with its complexity. If you find yourself focusing too much on a single portion, learn to let go and come back to it later. This will give room for new perspectives and a fresher mind. Let the perfectionist in you take a back seat for a while. Warm-up before a drawing Experts suggest that warming-up with quick random sketches can help loosen up your muscles and get them ready for the long run. Similar to sports, choosing not to warm up will result in cramps, twitching, and in most cases reduce working time. Although quite difficult, the art of figure drawing is very rewarding. The results of such long processes are wonderfully drawn figures of the incredible human body sketched down to the finest detail. With a market worth of over $67 billion, the art industry is booming and expanding exponentially. With that being said, the figure drawing niche within this market is finding its foothold in beautiful and intricate style.
ArtDiction | 42 | March/April 2020
Transform Your World with Fine Art rogallery.com
A Real Sense of Place
A
drian John has been interested in art since he was six years old. “I remember being fascinated with drumkits, so I started designing my dream kit through lots of sketches,” he says. “At the same time my, grandfather was painting, and I felt inspired wanting to do what he was doing.” After studying A-level Art, Adrian went on to study at the Swansea Art College in South Wales. Today, he spends equal time in drawing and painting. “I’m a firm believer that if you don’t practice drawing the, painting will suffer,” he says. “I find the both very therapeutic. There’s a need to rotate to sometimes keep a fresh approach.”
Before embarking on a painting, Adrian says he usually begins with a drawing. “Certain things need to be carefully mapped out especially if the proportions are a strong element of the composition I’m working on. Correct scale is key to filling the surface effectively.” Adrian also works from photos, which adds to his creative process. He explains: “I use a grid technique to scale up so there’s a little bit of math involved. Then I start the mapping (pencil outline), which takes some time, followed by the tonal washes and underpainting. Finally, the topcoats and finer details/ highlights etc.” With a style that’s been described as having a real sense of place, Adrian works on various mediums. some of his favorite art tools include a ruler, 2H HB
ArtDiction | 44 | March/April 2020
and 6B graphite pencils, a good-quality eraser, a wide range of brushes, and mirrors.
technique was and still continues to be on a different level.”
Adrian is inspired by the relationship between nature and human interaction. “I think we take certain things for granted being rushed off our feet. I find the time to stop and appreciate my surroundings,” he says. He also admires the works of other artists like Richard Estes. “He is part of the photorealism movement that developed in the United States back in the 60s and 70s,” Adrian says. “His play with composition distorted through reflection and his
Adrian is currently working on another pairing of musical figurative works that he hopes will be ready for gallery exhibition in the next few months. Visit https://www.adrianjohnart.co.uk/ to see more of Adrian’s work.
ArtDiction | 46 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 47 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 48 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 49 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 50 | March/April 2020
ArtDiction | 51 | March/April 2020
Watercolor Batik By Belle (Martha) Heppard, M.D.
In our new artist series, Belle (Martha) Heppard, M.D. will provide insight into the fascinating world of Watercolor Batik. With a special connection to this medium, Belle will detail the origin of this artform and highlight its place in the artworld.
Introduction Watercolor, as a medium for batik, is a relatively new phenomenon. Artists began working in this medium by at least the millennium and I was introduced to it shortly thereafter. While not initially familiar with watercolor batiking, I first learned of the traditional batiking of textiles when I was 11 years old. I grew up in Honolulu, Hawai’i and attended Hawai’i School for Girls (now known as La Pietra) for junior high school. During my junior and senior years of high school, I attended the then named Punahou Schools. Because of the strong Asian influence in Hawai’i, Asian art and textile techniques were an integral part of my school’s art curriculum. Textile batiking flourished in Asia during the 1970’s, and thus, my classmates and I learned to batik fabric as part of our art curriculum. After following my passion for art for many years and trying to develop a soft style, I was introduced to watercolor batik on rice paper. This method—the technique of batik that I had known for decades—was just what I needed. I fell in love with the process and outcome. Although I still paint in the traditional methods of watercolor and oil, I specialize in painting watercolor batiks on rice paper. The artist who showed me how to create a watercolor batik picked it up from a magazine a few years earlier. While I am not the final authority or originator of painting watercolor batiks on rice paper, I have carried this technique a step further than most other fine-art batik artists. My book, Watercolor Batik; An Artist’s Guide to Watercolor Batik on Rice Paper, will introduce you to the history of batik, the supplies and needed set-up, along with the technique of watercolor batik on rice paper. Four demonstrations are
included, complete with the colors and brands of watercolor used and step-by-step instructions. Additionally, I reveal tips on how to touch up a painting after the batiking process is completed. I also address care for your finished painting, including how to mount and mat it. History of Batik Technically, a batik is a fabric dyed in a wax-resist technique. It is commonly and casually the term applied to describe the wax-resist method used to create the batik cloth or textile.
ArtDiction | 52 | March/April 2020
After researching the subject, batik seems to have spontaneously developed in a few places. It existed in Egypt as early as the 4th century B.C. (linen wrappings from mummies show the fabric was treated with wax and scratched with a sharp tool). Although a few African countries practiced the method in the 6th and 7th centuries A.D., Sri Lanka or perhaps India may have brought the technique to Indonesia during this same time period, although some may argue it was already a native tradition in certain regions. Various sources also credit China with applying the textile technique from 618 to 907 A.D., as well as Japan around the same time period. How to Do It Traditional batiking involves applying hot wax to a cloth with the wax being placed where the lightest colors of the cloth are to be kept as they are. The cloth is then dipped in a bucket of dye diluted with water and once the saturation of the desired color is achieved, the cloth is removed from the dye bucket. It is allowed to dry, and wax is subsequently applied where desired over the new color. After dying and waxing achieves the desired pattern of color, the dry cloth is covered completely in wax and then crumbled into a ball which creates cracks in the wax. It is then dipped into a final dark color (usually darker than most of the colors previously used) and allowed to dry one final time before the wax is ironed off.
“I fell in love with the process and outcome. Although I still paint in the traditional methods of watercolor and oil, I specialize in painting watercolor batiks on rice paper. The artist who showed me how to create a watercolor batik picked it up from a magazine a few years earlier.” To iron the wax off, the cloth is placed between double sheets of paper, such as newsprint, and a household iron is moved back and forth over the paper until wax begins to bleed through the outermost layer of the paper. The heat from the iron pulls the wax out of the cloth onto the paper. Once the wax is seen coming through the paper layers, the iron is put aside, the current papers are removed from above and below the cloth, and a new set of papers are placed in the same places, above and below the cloth. This process is repeated until wax is no longer pulled from the cloth (about 4 to 6 total times). The batik is finished!
This modern silk batik “From Sea to Land” by Sarai Stricklin expresses the eternal continuity between sea and land. More of her batiks can be seen at saraistricklin.com
Certain patterns of batik arose in different cities of the same country where the method was used. Tools, such as the tjanting (canting), were invented around the 13th century for the batiking process in Java, Indonesia. The tjanting is like a wood pencil with a metal reservoir at the far end that holds the hot wax and has a small hole at its base to let the wax through. My sister, Sarai Stricklin, is an Hawaiian batik artist in Maui, Hawai’i. She batiks silk, making scarves, dresses, and wall hangings among other items. This modern silk batik “From Sea to Land” by Sarai Stricklin expresses the eternal continuity between sea and land. Popularity of batik items (clothing, furnishing fabrics, wall hangings, etc.) has fluctuated over the centuries and even in the past few decades. Watercolor batik paintings are heralding the beginning of a resurgence of the technique here in the United States.
ArtDiction | 53 | March/April 2020
artist & ad index
Page 10 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair www.1-54.com/new-york/ Page C4 Arteza www.arteza Page 52 Belle (Martha) Heppard, M.D. https://artistangle.com/ Page 12 Ryan Hewett http://ryanhewett.com/ Page 11 James Beard Foundation https://www.jamesbeard.org/relief Page 44 Adrian John https://www.adrianjohnart.co.uk/ Page C3 Lehmann Maupin www.lehmannmaupin.com Page 24 Eleanor Mill http://www.melibertine.com/ C2 Pro Tapes & Specialties https://www.protapes.com/products/artist-tape
Pro® Premium Black Mask pH Neutral
Pro® Artist Tape 11 Colors White is pH Neutral
Paint Straight Lines - Professionally! Whether you’re masking, hinging, adhering artwork, working on a mural or canvas, Pro Tapes® offers a comprehensive selection of premium adhesive tapes for your medium. To find a distributor near you or to become a distributor, please email Steve Espinal, Graphic Arts Market Manager: sespinal@protapes.com
www.protapes.com
800-345-0234 ext. 133
Page 43 RoGallery https://www.rogallery.com/
ArtDiction | 54 | March/April 2020
Robin Rhode & Nari Ward Power Wall Hong Kong April 3 – May 16, 2020 www.lehmannmaupin.com
www.arteza.com www.303gallery.com
