Category Drawing

Interference colors offer acrylic painters a new way to jazz up their paintings.by Stephanie KaplanBraukman’s students created colorsamples so that they could experimentwith interference colors and havea reference palette throughout the workshop.Here, black gesso was painted on whitetag board to provide a base for theinterference colors.

Oil painter Matthew Mitchell adapts Rembrandt’s working method for his portraits spotlighting Americans serving in civilian or military roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.by Karen FrankelAlexander Scott Arredondo2005, oil on linen,30 x 26. All artworkthis article collection 100 Faces of War Experience Project.

Cast Study—Laocoon2005, charcoal and white chalk, 26 x 19.Collection the artist.Students attending contemporary art schools modeled after 19th-century academies often spend their first months on the drawing basics and making sight-size copies of lithographs from Jean-Léon Gérôme and Charles Bargue’s Cours de Dessin or drawings of plaster casts.

As the son of Betty Edwards, the author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Brian Bomeisler helps students access the right side of their brains to improve their drawings. The following describes the first day of Bomeisler’s five day drawing workshop.Each month the Art Educators section will spotlight one of the country’s top art educators and allow them to share their instruction with you.

Californian Kim Lordier has succeeded by pushing herself to create better and more original paintings with pastel and by stopping herself from rendering photographic details. “I had to gain enough confidence to make marks that expressed what I wanted to say about a subject, and then walk away from the painting before I overworked it,” she explains.

Florida Artist John Bowen increases his palette of colors and adds texture to his paintings by mixing zinc white gouache with his transparent watercolors.by M. Stephen DohertyMany watercolorists avoid using Chinese white or zinc white gouache with their transparent watercolors because they think they might appear to be lazy or breaking rules.

In the fall 2006 issue of Drawing, we explored the art of drawing realistic heads. Here, we present an excerpt from the article about drawing with light and shadows.by Dan GhenoStudy of a Boy With His Hand to His Mouthby Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, pen and brown ink over black chalk,9 5/8 x 7¾.Squint your eyes when you look at the model, and assess the big value masses as Tiepolo did in this strongly graphic drawing.

Milt Kobayashi grants students permission to take complete control of their paintings and not feel obligated to paint exactly what they see. During a recent workshop, he encouraged participants to change a model’s pose, coloration, and costumes to suit their own ideas.by Molly SipleHis classes are more about learning to be open to possibilities and less about finishing the week with a new list of artistic dos and don’ts.

In the fall 2006 issue of Drawing, we explained how to draw dynamic heads. We present an excerpt from the article about measuring facial features.by Dan GhenoIn my “Portrait Painting” article in the February 1993 issue of American Artist, I explained several feature-measuring techniques for drawing people.

In the November 2007 issue of American Artist, we discussed how Susan Goetz and Robert Schneider, who are husband and wife, studied with some of the same instructors and developed techniques based on similar historical precedents; yet they focus on different subjects and use varied palettes and procedures.

This oil painter finds that his ongoing series of paintings depicting books allows him to venture into a number of themes—including self-portraiture.View an online exclusive gallery of Rubensteins work.by William Chapman SharpeThe Great War and Meby Ephraim Rubenstein, 1998-1999,oil, 72 x 60.Collection the artist.

We present more of Liz Haywood-Sullivans rich, velvety pastels as an extension of the feature article in the May 2007 issue of American Artist.Waiting for Spring2006, pastel on black paper,15 x 30. Collection the artist.Lupine and Birch2004, pastel, 16 x 16.Collection the artist.Winter Morning on North River2004, pastel, 16 x 16.

View a gallery of portraits by acclaimed portrait painter Dawn Whitelaw, who will lead an online chat on May 30 at 3 p.m. EST about how to identify and fix problems in your paintings.Caroloil, 24 x 18. Allartwork this galleryprivate collection.Coltonoil, 24 x 18.Braceyoil, 20 x 30.Prestonoil, 36 x 24.

North Carolina artist Kate Worm uses rollers to apply watercolor and gouache to create breathtakingly bold paintings.by Christopher WillardBrushes are overrated, at least according to Kate Worm. Although her approach is a radical departure from the techniques associated with traditional watercolor, Worm finds it allows her to create breathtakingly bold paintings.

One of the top artists specializing in children’s portraits recently offered workshops for both oil and pastel painters. Although some of Wende Caporale’s specific instructions related to one medium or the other, her general discussions about the importance of drawing, value and temperature judgments, and dark-to-light progression were relevant to both.

Achieving lifelike skin tones and a refined image is at the heart of Terry Sellers Buckner’s success as a portrait painter.by Lynne Moss PerricelliTommy and Danni2002, watercolor,14 x 11. All artwork thisarticle private collection.Terry Sellers Buckner, of Supply, North Carolina, is booked for portrait work for at least the next two years.

Ohio artist Linda Wesner depicts American scenes that are quickly disappearing because she feels it is important that the viewer recognize the universal theme of change. by Bob BahrLight Along the Hudson2006, colored pencil, 25 x 12¾.All artwork this articlecollection the artist.Says the artist, “Inthis interior view of FDR’s bedroomin his boyhood home overlookingthe Hudson River, I wantedto explore this former president’sfascinating life through architectural elements,both interior and exterior.

This Maryland oil painter, renowned for her portraits, seeks the essence of her subjects and settles for nothing less.by Janice F. BoothEvening Pastureoil on linen, 24 x 30.Collection the artist.When we remember a friend’s face, we don’t see the eyes, the smile, the mouth. Nash. There are, however, some useful suggestions we can extract from her observations on portraiture.

This Pennsylvania artist combines alkyd with oil to achieve poetic paintings of his local landscape using a closely controlled technique.by John A. ParksGene McInerney paints delicate views of his beloved Pennsylvania countryside with a fullness and completeness that is utterly satisfying. Rather, they convey a quiet and thoughtful feeling—as though the artist understands how everything sits in its place.

Primarily an oil painter, Elizabeth O’Reilly makes a point of painting the figure in watercolor, where she stretches her painting skills to solve new kinds of problems.by Lynne Moss PerricelliLarge Woman With Umbrella2006, watercolor, 16¼ x 12¼.Courtesy George BillisGallery, New York, New York.Although she is known primarily for her oil landscapes, Irish-born, New York-based artist Elizabeth O’Reilly has recently taken to painting the clothed figure in watercolor, where her exploration of composition and color assumes entirely new forms.