Archive for March, 2012

Awesome Acrylic Artist series…..Sue Averell

{ March 31, 2012 @ 3:45 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Great interview with the artist  from 2007.

The artist from another interview in 2007.

Price ranges: Couldn’t find any price on originals but the artist has prints on http://www.art.com and http://www.allposters.com starting at $28. So the artist has a keen sense for business success! Takes commissions.

The artist’s own website here:  http://sueaverell.com/

The artist paints mainly landscapes and botanicals with her bold and colorful style.  The artist is highly collectible and has works in four different continents.  As part of her painting preparation she makes a full scale replica of her subject to help her plan her painting strategy.

mediums used: acrylic

surfaces used: canvas

The artist attended college in Pasadena at the Art Center College of Design.

This artist is known for her thickly painted canvases that are alive with color and fun shapes. In the drawing of her petals I am reminded of calligraphic strokes. If I had to have one word to describe her work it would be festive.  The drawing technique is representational and filled with expression. The flower doesn’t necessarily have to look like exactly like a flower to be a great painting, if it feels like a painting it can also be a strong piece. Some collectors include the author of the Twilight film and book series as  well as Cisco the computer company.

on line and land based gallery: Richard Danskin Gallery in Palm Desert, CA.   http://www.danskingalleries.com/Averell-Sue.htm

Today try to take an early spring flower like a daffodil and draw how it feels! Exaggerate the warm and cool colors!

Happy painting!

D

Awesome Acrylic Artist series…..Audrey Flack….

{ March 30, 2012 @ 4:07 am } · { Uncategorized }
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On line and land based galleries:  Gary Snyder Gallery in New York City.   http://www.garysnyderart.com/artists/audrey-flack

mediums: acrylics, oils, photographs, bronzes, pencil, lithograph, screenprint

low price range: lithographs around $200 pencil drawings $500 or so.

high price range: $90,000

surfaces: clay, canvas, paper

Below is a clip featuring Will Barnett and the Audrey Flack. The artist is on first for around 2 minutes and then Barnett speaks. This video was from 2008 so Mr. Barnett was only 97 years old. Now at nearly 101, he turnes 101 on May 25, he still loves art! That is just awesome! The artist was featured in American Artist magazine around the New Years holiday.

This artist is proud to be a woman and loves to talk about art!  In the interview clip at the Art Hamptons she even states that there is no life without art! I couldn’t agree more! This artist is inspiring as she always grows never satisfied with working in only one medium or genre.

The artist started as an Abstract Expressionist painter. She knew Jackson Pollack, Warhol, and DeKooning. This phase lasted a few years and then she became hooked on photorealist painting.  After working as a painter she then switched to sculpting. The artist is just wonderful at creating.

Her main emphasis is that the best art is art that is easily understood by the masses.

The artist was born in 1931. Attended college at Cooper Union in New York from 1948 – 1953. The artist also attended Yale and received a masters degree from the college.

She has an interesting and to me boring style of working. She projects a slide onto the canvas and then uses an airbrush to paint. I love to see the drawing and finished piece.  I find it much more expressive to draw it first and go through the struggle of making the drawing work.  Too many shortcuts for me in her method of producing painting. .  In the 1970s she was mainly a photo realist.  In the 1980s she began expressing herself  in bronzes.

The artist thought the world was falling apart even back in the 1970s and wanted to make sculptures that wouldn’t fall apart or disintegrate. Her sculptures show the strength of woman and their power.

The artist is part of museum collections from Guggenheim, the Met, and the Museum of Modern Art. The artist was the first of the photorealist painters to be purchased by the Met museum.

The artist lives and works out of New York City. She has taught at many colleges and universities and is currently a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

 

Awesome Acrylic artist series……John Pugh…

{ March 29, 2012 @ 4:26 am } · { Uncategorized }
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A short clip some murals painted by the artist. Really helps you see that the artist can paint any texture realistically!

 

Another clip showing the artist working on a piece.

mediums used: acrylics, various mixed media, sculpture

surfaces used: sides and wall of buildings

Sorry I couldn’t find any price ranges. No prints or posters available, ONLY MURALS!

 

Keep in mind that the people you see are part of the painting. The person in the cafe, the gentleman watching the boat in a bottle, even the woman looking into a building which was a college commission done by the artist. I continue to be amazed at the level of depth achieved by the artist.

 

For this artist a small work is 10 by 20 feet! He loves to paint murals that fool the eye! After doing so many works on the sides of buildings and flat surfaces he has become a master at the trompe style of painting. By exaggerating perspective and  using the human figure so the viewer can relate to the work, he tricks you into believing the image is reality.

The artist has done many many public commissions from local state, city governments, and universities, as well as private clients.

The artist is having his website updated so stay tuned for more.

He started painting murals in the 1970s. He has traveled the world over painting murals in the United States in the lower forty eight as well as Alaska, Hawaii,  Taiwan, and New Zealand. The artist describes his painting style as narrative illusionism.

The artist attended California  State University at Chico and finished college in 1983.

Not only does he do amazing work with acrylics, but in some cases he also produces sculptures. In addition to making art on several times he has been asked to help with architectural and building designs.

 

The artist currently lives in Santa Cruz, California. If you are in the California area close to Los Gatos I highly recommend to visit the towns museum as the artist is giving a lecture and meeting the public. The reception and lecture take place on April 26th, 2012 and start at 6pm in the evening.

In the picture gallery you can see a book that he has out showing his many murals that was printed in 2006. I researched on http://www.amazon.com and http://www.barnesandnoble.com and a used book can be had for $30. A brand new hardcover will put you back $150.

John Pugh finds great satisfaction in his work. He believes people in general liked to be tricked in a visual manner. When working life size people also can feel or imagine themselves in the picture.

What can’t we learn from this artist! A highly intelligent painter and this guy is a modern day Michelangelo for the amount of public commissions he paints. Think about how long it would take you to design such a large piece. He has painted sides of buildings as long as 80 feet! Just amazing!

Happy painting!

D

 

 

 

Awesome Acrylic Artist series……Brent McIntosh…..

{ March 28, 2012 @ 2:13 am } · { Uncategorized }
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mediums used: oils, acrylics, watercolor

surfaces used: paper, canvas

This artist hails from Canada and was born in 1959. He paints mainly in acrylics but has worked in oils as well. Things we can learn from the artist, how to design on a square format. The artist uses the square format routinely using sizes of 60 inches by 60 inches.  The most amazing aspect of the work of this artist is the use of rainbows of color and reflections of color in the leaves.  If you like the work of this artist please checkout Gregory Packard or David Foley, Foley is an expert at painting white colored trees in acrylics and repeating fun colors in the leave shapes. Packard loves to paint thickly with an emphasis on complimentary colours.

 

The artist received a fine arts diploma from John Abbot College in Kirkland, Quebec. He then received a bachelor of  fine arts from York College in Toronto.  After this he went on to earn a master’s degree in fine art in Edmonton, Alberta.

For painting the leaves and grasses of his paintings the artist uses the palette knife to apply thin lengthy strips of colour.

low price range: $4,000

high price range: $10,000

on line and land based galleries:  Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto, Canada.       http://metiviergallery.com/artists/Brent-McIntosh/paintings

J. Cacciola Gallery in New York City.         http://www.jcacciolagallery.com/brent-mcintosh

The artist has a home in Thornbury, Canada.

If you get a chance to see works of this artist or the other listed who employ a similar impressionistic technique. Up close the viewer sees only flashes and dabs of color. From a distance of five feet or more forms and light and shade come into play.  A very impressionistic painting such as works by Beaux or Sargent are best viewed from fifteen to twenty feet away.

The artist sometimes spends as much as one year to complete a painting. One thing to learn about layering paint, if you look close enough you can see all the colors of the rainbow in the boring greens already present. The great watercolour artist John Pike started his foliage greens by painting them yellow in the under painting. Its great for adding a sense of light and vitality to the greens. Leaves reflect a great amount of light, exaggerate it for wonderful effect. Sargent also used yellow in many under paintings of foliage.

 

Another artist similar in style is Gustav Klimt. Sometimes this artist used gold leaf when doing fall paintings of the trees.  He made wonderful shapes with the silhouettes of the trees and  combined with the jewel like aspect of the leaf and oil paint make his work very unique.  For a short while a portrait done by the artist was the most expensive painting in the world.

Need an idea to paint today. How about drawing and painting some trees in your neighborhood when they are empty and without leaves.  Once you have painted the trees hide the piece until fall.  When fall comes around add the fun reds, oranges, and yellows to the ground and you will have a perfect fall painting!

Happy painting!

D

Awesome Acrylic Series…..Ovid Ward….

{ March 27, 2012 @ 12:20 am } · { Uncategorized }
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One word that comes to mind when thinking of work by this artist is serene.  He is famous for his paintings of Martha’s Vineyard. My favorite works of his are of the vineyard during the evening time, sometimes after a light rain, the sun and sky turn to a purplish color contrasting nicely with the blue of the water.

Artist’s website: http://www.ovidward.com/index.shtml

On line and land based galleries: Wellesley Hills, MA.   http://www.azfineartgallery.com/artists1.asp?collectionID=56

mediums used: acrylics

surfaces used: board

low price range: $1200 for originals, prints from $100 on his website

high price range: $15,000 for original commission of a very large boat

The artist enjoys painting coastal and boat landscapes.  People enjoy his painting of the boats and if some thing is not right with a particular boat, they aren’t afraid to tell him so. The artist enjoys rendering these works based on photographs he has taken.

The artist has worked in the commercial art industry for decades for the Chrysler corporation as an automobile designer.

The artist was born in 1945. He grew up on Martha’s Vineyard and as a youngster put on more than 1,000 miles paddling across the waters with his cousin.

Went to college in Pasadena, California at the Art Center College for Design. After studying industrial art he moved to Detroit and began designing automobiles. While he was happy with the opportunity to earn a living as an artist he strove to be a designer of boats.  While in Detroit and working in the auto industry he went back to college and earned a master’s degree in industrial design from Wayne State University.

The artist worked for a short while as designer of yachts, but felt he wasn’t getting enough credit for design techniques. He moved back to Martha’s Vineyard and got a job building boats.  After one year of building boats he decided to form his own company and build them himself.  They were similar to lobster boats and made of fiberglass. The artist built 24 boats. One day his business partner for the boats ran off with one of his prototypes and he quit the business then and there.

In order to decorate his new house, the artist had done paintings of the vineyard and displayed them around his house. After seeing his great works of art he entered them in an art show featuring local artists.  After this show three galleries wanted to display his works.  He had made it as an artist without even trying!

The artist had a bout with lung cancer in the mid 2000s. He thought he developed cancer from building the boats with asbestos. He recovered and has been busy ever since by people wanting to commission an Ovid Ward original of Martha’s Vineyard.

Also paints abstract works.

When it comes to how I picture Martha’s Vineyard to be in the evening this artist just nails it. The color of light and the smell of the sea water are at your fingertips when viewing his work. The blues and purples just go perfectly with each other.

Try painting your favorite coastal retreat during sunset when you have the full rainbow of colors to work with.

Happy painting!

D

Awesome Acrylic Artist series…..Bobbie Burgers…

{ March 25, 2012 @ 9:18 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Below is a clip featuring some wonderful floral scenes painted by the artist.

mediums used: acrylics, oils

surfaces used: canvas

low price range: $35. The artist has prints and posters available from http://www.allposters.com and http://www.art.com.

high price range: $15,000 for a large original painting 50 inches by 50 inches or larger.

On line gallery: Bau – Xi Gallery in Toronto, Canada.      http://www.bau-xi.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=56&Page=1#12930

This artist hails from Canada and was born in 1973 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has gained critical acclaim for her paintings of lush floral images. I enjoy the artist from a composition point as many times she paints fields of flowers, rather than a bouquet or vase of flowers. The artist loves to use thick paint and express herself in her brushstrokes. A quote from the artist herself : ” A floral can look like nothing more than a rendering. I want them to be larger than life and suck you in.” She has a great use of color and more important bright color. She breaks many rules of painting such as painting with too many reds, as she has great control of the color.  When mixed with her use of green and various shades of it for the stem and foliage part of her paintings. The artist focuses on color as well as movement in her works.

Books out by the artist:  Bau- Xi Gallery Toronto Forces of Nature  $50 CAD

The artist received a Bachelor of Art History degree from the University of Victoria in 1996. Her minor was in film.  She has also studied in Aix-en- Provence, France.

The artist has been in more than 60 art shows worldwide.

Among the artist’s favorite painters are Joan Mitchell, Gordon Smith, and Gathie Falk. You can see the Abstract Expressionist Mitchell had a large influence on the focus of color and repetitious shapes.  Gordon Smith worked as decorative painter and glass sculptor in Canada. Gathie Falk worked in ceramics and painting, focusing on color and repetitious shape. Check out this painting of maple leaves on cement.Its easy to see the influence of this artist in Burgers’ work. The painting is the last picture in the gallery, its done by Falk and focuses of the bright yellow and orange fall leaves with the cool subdued grays of the concrete sidewalk.

 

If you enjoy this artist’s style of painting flowers be sure and check out the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Gregory Packard. Both loved to pile on thick and expressive paint when doing floral images.

One thing to learn from the artist style of composing is to align your light and dark shapes so they have a continual flow, perhaps in a circle shape, when using a square shape. The artist paints quite large with paintings 50 by 70 inches or larger.

Its fun to see someone who likes to paint the flower, but without a fancy vase or even a container. This mixed with the cool greys gives her work a fresh and lively feel.

Try a painting of a small flower garden or patch in your garden today. Concentrate on explosive color and brushwork!

Happy painting!

D

Awesome Acrylic Artist series…….Andrew Haines….

{ March 25, 2012 @ 12:21 am } · { Uncategorized }
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mediums used: acrylics, graphite, watercolor, oil

surfaces used: paper, panel, linen

On line and land based gallery: Clark Gallery in Lincoln, MA.   http://www.clarkgallery.com/artists/andrew-haines

The artist was born in 1961 in Woodbury, New Jersey.

Today’s artist, Andrew Haines, is known for painting city scenes mainly of the northeast U.S.A. such as Boston and New York.

Attended college at the University of Fine Art School in Tyler, Pennsylvania.

Has sold works to public collections including the Boston Museum of the Art and Yosemite Art Collection.

I enjoy the artist for his ability to make the mundane and boring a true work of art. If you like his art you might enjoy Rackstraw Downes, another painter of ordinary and boring objects. A shopping cart, a run down grocery store, a smog sunlit afternoon, a rusty but still functioning train, the artist truly captures the smells and colors found in large cities, especially on the east coast. The vastness he portrays is another fantastic quality of his work.  He can make a small panel seem large and full of spatial depth.

Another lesson we can learn from the artist is to vary straight lines. Houses are full of straight lines but do some studies of Sargent, Ed Hopper, and this artist and see how a straight line often has very thick and thin lines giving added motion and variety to the building.

Started working in the early 2000s from photographs as opposed to working from life. He loved the aspect of being able to work regardless of the weather conditions outside.

Try a painting of your favorite house in the neighborhood!

In April we will start looking at the many great painters of food, the delicious painters if you will!

Happy painting!

D

Awesome Acrylic Artist series….Simon Hennessey

{ March 23, 2012 @ 7:20 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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A brief clip showing the artist’s work.

 

mediums used: Ink, acrylic, pencil

A link for the artist’s website:     http://www.simonhennessey.co.uk/

surfaces used: board, paper, canvas

The artist was born in the U.K. in 1973.

He is known for working in the photo realistic tradition. Many times using ink and pencil also. A few years ago he would blend black and white images of celebrities on one side and colored editions on the opposite side. He is very unique in his compositions in choosing to crop images around the eye or lips. Very detailed in his work, the close ups of the face show a very high degree of skill with beads of sweat and moisture on the lips all done to perfection.

 

Online and land based gallery: Plus One Gallery in London, England.           http://plusonegallery.com/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=438&ThisPiece=1&NewID=7648&StartRow=1&ThisPage=1

Scott Richards Contemporary Fine Art in San Francisco, California.          http://www.srcart.com/art_hennessey.html

Attended college at Solihull College in the U.K.

The artist inspires me to take some time and try to paint a super tightly rendered face. Also the black and white images mixed with color, really innovative.

Try a photorealist painting of a portrait today!

D

 

 

 

The artist takes much liberty in his work, altering colors, crop the picture beyond simple facial recognition, and also neutralizes color.

 

Awesome Acrylic Artists series………Yayoi Kusama

{ March 22, 2012 @ 1:38 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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A clip showing the artist and her career.

A clip showing the many mediums used by the artist.

Sculpture and installations done by the artist.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this artist today on March 22. She was born in 1929. One of the foremost artists of Japan working in a variety of visual mediums as well as writing.

low price range: for small pumpkin sculptures around 5,000 prints from 5,000  and up

high price range: for an acrylic she has garnered $5.1 million. This artist set the record for a living female artist at auction! Awesome!

mediums used: acrylics, oils, screenprint, silkscreen, ink, pastel, installations, sculpture, etchings, video art, fashion design, collage

surfaces used: canvas, paper

The artist is highly collected and known for repetitious patterns and explosive color.  Some of her favorite subjects are butterflies, flowers, and pumpkins. I just love the willingness of the artist to learn a new medium.

She was born in Japan to an upper middle class family. The artist was taught a strictly Japanese style way to paint and didn’t enjoy it. She studied American and European artists and moved to New York City. She became a fan of the Ab-Ex movement and did several works in this style during the 1950s.  Her work stood next to the other great Pop Artists of the day such as Andy Warhol and George Segal.

Another theme of the artist is the dot. The artist gained some fame during the 1960s for organizing festivals where all the participants were naked save for painted polka dots.

In the early 1970s she moved back to Japan and became an art dealer. The country’s art scene wasn’t the same as New York. The artist’s business failed and she checked herself into a hospital on her own will for mental problems.  She still lives in a hospital but went on to resume her artwork and published a series of books including an autobiography.

I find it inspiring that someone who is similar to Van Gogh in having mental issues, is so productive in her artistic output. Writing books, designing clothes, making video art, installations, and sculpture. It seems that she feels at ease when she is doing something artistic and you have to admire that!

Has had many shows at museums such as the Tate modern and Museum of Modern Art.

How about trying a different medium today in honor of this artist’s birthday!

Happy creating!

D

 

 

Awesome Acrylic Artist series……Ben Schonzeit…

{ March 21, 2012 @ 2:10 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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In the gallery notice the  last piece. If you are adept you can find wonderful watercolor pieces done by the artist to friends and family on envelopes. Most even have the postage stamps still attached. Nice to see the looser side of a photorealist painter!

Below a clip with an interview in the artist’s SoHo District of New York City.

Part two of the interview.

One of my favorite painters of flowers! He uses acrylics but sometimes on polyester instead of canvas or board. When I first began studying artists I didn’t really pay that much attention to the photorealist painters. It was a mistake. The work is very expressive and many times the artist have fun by inserting their name on license plates or marquees in the painting. Also the composition aspect of the photorealist works always is interesting, even if the subject matter is trailer parks!  Of course I am referring to the artist John Salt who loved to paint mobile homes in a photographic manner.

The artist Ben Schonzeit was born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York . He now lives and works in New York City.

A link to the artist’s website: http://www.benschonzeit.com/index.html

The artist attended college in New York City from Cooper Union.

Please also realize how large the paintings are. Many of the flower works are exceeding 5 feet on one side. The artist as a child painted murals on school windows. As he grew older he painted on walls and also designed theater sets.  Started exhibiting with the Photorealist painters in 1969.

surfaces used: linen, canvas, polyester, paper

mediums used: oils, acrylic, murals, glitter, watercolor

online and land based galleries: http://www.nancyhoffmangallery.com/home      This is in New York City.

http://www.gpgallery.com/works/search/199     This is also in New York City.

The second to last painting in the gallery is a mural painted by the artist. It measures a 13 feet 8 inches by 9 foot 1 inch! It is a spectacular piece with a very complex design. It was painted to remind viewers of what the artist saw in his own neighborhood. Long before the Ipad and internet kids played board games(now called bored games to most children!) like monopoly or dominoes. The piece was done for the New York City Center of Cultural Affairs located in Brooklyn, New York.

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