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IN THIS ISSUE
NOVEMBER 2016 VOLUME 33 NUMBER 9

COLUMNS
4 Letters

7 Perspective

10 The Artist’s Life

16 Drawing Board

22 Brushing Up

62 Ask the Experts

66 Road Test

72 Competition Spotlight

46

FEATURES
ON THE COVER
30 An Insistent Other World William Bailey 30
William Bailey continues to contemplate utopian vistas
characterized by stillness, order and calm. BY RICHARD STULL Graphite Grades 62
The Figure at Rest & in Motion 30, 46
38 Child’s Play Structure in Pastel 16
An artist creates a mural to celebrate a philanthropist’s
COVER: Yellow Tube (oil on canvas,
commitment to children’s education in the arts. BY ROBERT BARRETT
30x33) by David Shevlino

46 Caught in the Act

David Shevlino, Mark Heine and Susan Grossman convey the
shifting contours of the figure in motion. BY HOLLY DAVIS
54 Every Picture Tells a Story
Aaron Becker worked as a concept artist for animated films
before envisioning Journey. INTERVIEW BY WILL HILLENBRAND
ONLINE:
More inspiration and instruction at
artistsnetwork.com/learnmore2016
Latest online articles, dates of our
three competitions, and annual CD
compilations at artistsmagazine.com

Subscriptions/renewals: artists
ABOVE: Catch
Up (pastel and charcoal on paper network.com/artists-magazine-2
mounted on board, 50x60) by Susan Grossman

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Freedom of the Artist
ABOVE: With my children grown (and
from the without grandchildren on the
opening horizon, alas), I’ve been sadly
pages out of the loop of children’s
of Aaron
literature. Thankfully wonder-
Becker’s
Journey ful illustrator and frequent
(Candle- contributor Will Hillenbrand
wick Press, continues to interview his
2013) esteemed colleagues in the
field. In this issue, Will
talks to Aaron Becker,
author of the trilogy,
Journey, Quest and
Return. The heroine
escapes from the
confines of her room
when she picks up
a red magic marker
and draws a door that
turns out to be in a tree. Over
the course of her journey,
the sepias of the real world
give way to bright golds, as
from our OLDER & WISER
readers I wanted to tell you what a
fabulous issue September
2016 is. As an older (69),
disabled, female artist, I
deeply appreciate the stories
of the personal journeys
4 artistsmagazine.com
she deals with dilemmas by
drawing the means of solving
them. In talking to Aaron, Will
remembered that “for chil-
dren like we were, being able
to draw was empowerment.”
Aaron concurred: “... in the
same way that Ed Emberley’s
modules (geometric forms like
circles and squares from his
Big Drawing Books) ease you
into drawing something com-
plex, drawing can ease you
into [understanding] some-
thing complex, i.e., reality”
(“Every Picture Tells a Story,”
page 54). Cheers to the chil-
dren who drew caricatures
and castles on the margins of
their homework. Art enriches
lives; it also saves them.
Maureen Bloomfield
EDITOR
of other mature artists
(e.g., Mary Carol Kenney,
Harvey Dinnerstein, Mel
Odom). A spectacular issue!
VICTORIA PENDRAGON
VIA EMAIL
the
magazine
EDITOR Maureen Bloomfield
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Brian Roeth
MANAGING EDITOR Brian Riley
SENIOR EDITOR Holly Davis
ASSOCIATE EDITORS McKenzie Graham
Michael Woodson
SENIOR ONLINE EDITOR Cherie Haas
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NEWS, INSTRUCTION, INSPIRATION THE ARTIST’S LIFE 10

perspective DRAWING BOARD 16

BRUSHING UP 22

TRENDING ARTISTS
CJ HENDRY

CJ HENDRY RENDERS
US SPEECHLESS with
her supersized ink
drawings. Australian
born but New York
based, Hendry finds
inspiration from the
interplay between
pop culture, con-
sumer products and
social commentary to
breathe life into her
black-and-white work,
now gaining attention
and accolades from
across the world,
including a purchase
from hip-hop artist
Kanye West.
Visit CJ Hendry’s
Instagram account
at instagram.com/
cj_hendry.
Head on over to
artistsnetwork.com/
learnmore2016 to
read our Q&A with
CJ Hendry.

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NOVEMBER 2016 7
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 The Artist’s Life
Edited by Michael Woodson

It’s The Little Things

The magnificent miniature world of Christian D. Schmit.

This summer, the Weston Art cardboard packaging, glue Schmit’s work was dis- ABOVE: Botany
Gallery in Cincinnati and an X-Acto knife. His intri- played at the Weston Art (paper, cardboard
featured an artist cate constructions flirt with Gallery in Cincinnati in the and drawings,
161⁄2 x12x17)
whose work exem- the idea of a world unknown, show “Lost in the Making.”
plifies the notion filled with characters in the Visit cincinnatiarts.org/
that big ideas can midst of creating their life’s weston-art-gallery to learn
come from small work. Combining technology what’s coming next at
places. Christian D. from the past with the inge- Weston Art Gallery, and to
Schmit of Lakeside nuity of the future, Schmit’s visit the artist’s website at
Park, Ky., creates miniature miniature worlds are a love christiandschmit.com.
worlds with consumer-based letter to imagination.

10 artistsmagazine.com
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The Artist’s Life

THE ART OF
KINDNESS
Through ArtLifting,
homeless and disabled
artists begin again.

THE ARTIST’S MAGAZINE
(TAM): Tell us about the orga-
nization ArtLifting.
KATIE MANZI, DIRECTOR OF
OPERATIONS (KM): ArtLifting
empowers homeless and
disabled artists through the
celebration of their artwork.
We offer artists the chance
to secure their own income
through the sale of original
paintings, prints and prod-
ucts. By showcasing and sell-
ing artwork, our artists gain
self-confidence that perme-
ates all aspects of their lives.
TAM: Tell us about a spe-
cific time when ArtLifting
helped shape the future of
one of your artists.
KM: Scott Benner was
homeless when he found us
through an Internet search
for “homeless art.” Since
joining ArtLifting, Scott
has found a home, had
the opportunity to pursue
his art as a serious career,
and found the stability and
confidence in life he had
lost due to unlucky circum-
stances that had forced him
to sell his home and worldly
possessions.
TAM: What else would you
like people to know about
ArtLifting?
KM: We are not a non-
profit; we are a “for profit”
and a “for good” business!
We hope other companies
will be inspired and find ways
that they too can be a “for
good” business.
I am so blessed to be able
to work for such an amazing
company. I am so excited
to go into work every day!
ABOVE: Special event at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
featuring ArtLifting artists.
Being surrounded by such
beautiful artwork and learning
about the incredible strength
and perseverance of the
human spirit is truly uplifting!
To learn more about the orga-
nization, visit artlifting.com.

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12 artistsmagazine.com
“Don’t think about
making art, just get
it done. Let every-
one else decide if
it’s good or bad,
whether they love
it or hate it. While
they are deciding,
make even more art.”
Andy Warhol

On Twitter, we asked,
“If you could study under
any artist throughout
history, who would it be?”
Here’s what some of our
followers said:
@dtboyer: Chuck Close!
@Terriaw: Dugald Stermer for his
naturalist themes, level of detail
and looking beneath the surface.
@bmblues: John Singer Sargent.
@bev2655: Leonardo da Vinci.

Follow us on twitter at
twitter.com/artistsmagazine
to answer our questions and see
your name in the magazine!

Find and follow us on Instagram

for more art and behind-the-scenes
content at instagram.com/
artistsmagazine!

NOVEMBER 2016 13
The Artist’s Life

WORK IN PROGRESS
JERRY N. WEISS IN THE STUDIO
(AND ON FACEBOOK)

Late this
spring I
returned
to paint in
my studio
after an
absence
of some months. My subject
was a talented student artist
who agreed to sit late in the
day, once or twice a week,
after finishing up at her regu-
lar summer job. We typically
worked from 4:30 to 7:30.
McKenzie brought a batch
of dresses, and I chose a red
one, short at the hemline and
long in the sleeves. After set-
tling on a pose, I drew in the
figure and most prominent 1 2
surrounding shapes with a
brush. During the second
session, I decided to drop her
right arm; the initial gesture
looked too contrived.
Greater changes followed.
I had to leave the painting
for a few weeks, and in the
interim developed a profound
dislike for the color of the
dress. Much as I prefer to
work on a painting while
the iron is hot, sometimes
distance lends great objec-
tivity. When we resumed at
the third session, McKenzie
brought a muted green
dress, and that was that. For
me, this sort of midstream
change is not uncommon
and is typical of a personal
spontaneity that fuels
3 4
the work.
We’re now working on a 1. FIRST PHASE: At the first session, I drew 2. SECOND PHASE: During the second after-
second painting. in the contours of the figure, chair and sev- noon we altered the pose of McKenzie’s
eral canvases stacked against a wall. Then, right arm. Several family members criticized
painting thinly, I blocked in some base col- the upraised leg. It just needed more time
ors for the dress, head and hands, and part to develop, to refine drawing and color.
of the chair. Besides, I liked that it was a bit odd, and
offered an unusual angle on the foot.

14 artistsmagazine.com
 LIVE ANIMAL
Dialed In This progression was shared on social
EXPERIENCES
media, where it was seen and purchased by a collector
in England. As I write this, the canvas is in transit to its
new home. MASTER’S WORKSHOPS
Robert Bateman
December 7-9

Murray Phillips
December 9-11

John & Suzie

Seerey-Lester
December 10-12

Tucson, Arizona

Colored
Pencil Call for Entries
Entries: September 15
to November 15, 2016
Enter Explore his! 13, the
juried online exhibition from
5 the Colored Pencil Society of
America that encourages
artists to explore using colored
3. THIRD PHASE: While away from the studio
pencil with other media, on
for a few weeks, I decided the leg wasn’t three-dimensional objects, or
what bugged me. It was the bright red of on artist-prepared surfaces.
the dress that had to go. Its appeal had
Artwork selected for Explore
faded in favor of something more subtle.
his! can be viewed on the
The newly bared arms were a fringe benefit.
CPSA website for a full year,
from February 1 to January 31.
4. DETAIL: Pulling the hair back was a late Pensive
Suzanne Vigil, CPSA (Virginia) Cash and product awards.
decision, allowing more of the face to be
District Chapters Award for Distinction For complete information
seen. CPSA Explore his! 12 online exhibition
on entering Explore his! 13,
Since 1990 download the prospectus at
5. FIFTH IMAGE: McKenzie (oil on linen,
www.cpsa.org/ETA
48x36)
Join CPSA
Become a positive voice
f Connect With Us on Facebook
facebook.com/ArtistsNetwork for colored pencil fine art
www.cpsa.org

NOVEMBER 2016 15
 Drawing Board
By Yael Maimon

Dark to Light: Creating

Structure in Pastel
Combine graphic lines with small strokes of bright color to
emphasize form and texture in pastel.

ABOVE LEFT: I used WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I loved drawing images from chil- more meaningful. No matter what
lots of vivid, lumi- dren’s books; I still do. My favorite book was and still is— age Alice is, she’s a curious dreamer
nous colors in Alice
not one, but two—Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in with fears to overcome. I wanted
Alone (pastel on
paper, 25x18½) to
Wonderland and hrough the Looking Glass. John Tenniel’s to interpret Alice’s character, while
express vitality and illustrations for these books made a great impression on maintaining her true essence. Alice
imagination. I want- me. I could spend hours staring at Tenniel’s artwork— is you and I when we want to escape
ed to capture the done with so much skill and imagination. reality to Wonderland—when we
character’s spirit. I’ve always been fascinated by deer. hey’re noble, wish to ind a world of our own.
graceful creatures and, during Alice’s walk through
ABOVE RIGHT: The
the wood, she meets a fawn. hey walk together until YAEL MAIMON is an artist working in
figures in blue in
Ashkelon, Israel. Her work has been
Tweedledum and they leave the forest; this is the moment the fawn
featured several times in The Artist’s
Tweedledee #1 remembers that it’s an animal and Alice is human, Magazine. See more of her “Once Upon a
(pastel on paper, and it runs away. hat scene is one of my favorites. Time” series at yaelmaimon.com.
23x17½) represent
I decided to paint Alice with an adult deer instead of
the twins Alice
meets in a disturbing a young fawn for artistic reasons. Considering that a deer
encounter; hence, must have more wisdom and experience than a fawn, See the demonstration on
she looks away. I thought aging the deer would make the encounter pages 18-20.

16 artistsmagazine.com
Drawing Board
demo MAKING PURPOSEFUL MARKS
1 2
1. CHOOSE REFERENCE
PHOTO: I took several photo-
graphs of my young model
with her dot-patterned
blouse. I settled on this
photo as a reference, even-
tually taking some artistic
liberties to manipulate the
background into forest
scenery and adding the
animal. Only after I had
spent some time visualizing
the theme of the painting
did I make the preliminary
study.
2. MAKE PRELIMINARY STUDY:
I created this study to get
a firm idea of what my
composition would look like.
I mapped out the lights,
darks and mid-tones, and
focused on the large shapes
and value masses.
3. ESTABLISH COMPOSITION:
I chose a sheet of Sennelier
La Carte Pastel Card in
sienna and started with a
charcoal drawing. When I
work on a mid-toned surface,
I start by blocking in either
the lightest or darkest areas.
Here I worked from dark to
light—first blocking in the
tree mass, the deer’s nose
and eyes, and Alice’s pants.
4. INTRODUCE COLOR: I
applied mid-tone greens
onto the background and
midground with varying
strokes. I also applied light
18 artistsmagazine.com
4 5
6 and ultramarine. I
strokes of green onto the
deer and in Alice’s hair in
order to integrate them
both into the scene. In
later stages, I would darken
and simplify the background
significantly, focusing the
viewer’s attention on Alice
and the deer.
3
5. BLOCK IN CLOTHING: Next
I started to block in the
figure. I applied moss gray
green to the filled-in blouse.
I also applied this color on
the deer’s head and antlers.
I added light strokes of
cobalt blue and painted the
butterfly bow on the blouse.
Since the sienna color of my
demo continued on page 20
surface is similar
to the natural
color of my model,
I didn’t feel the
need to block in
Alice’s face and
arms.
6. PAINT THE
DEER: I built up
the deer’s form
with loose, broad
strokes of varying
browns. I added
sharp accents of
burnt sienna and
expressive strokes
of intense blue
also added blue to
Alice’s hair. (I find soft pas-
tel ideal for rendering deer.
Capturing the fur’s texture
can be done with minimal
strokes, especially when
working on sanded paper.)
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Drawing Board
demo continued from page 18
7 8
9 were smeared or
7. ADD LIGHTS AND
HIGHLIGHTS: The light source
was coming from above
and to the right. I added
the lightest highlight of the
painting with pigment in
light magenta violet to the
top of Alice’s right shoulder.
I painted Alice’s hair with
overlapping pastel layers of
several greens. As I painted
20 artistsmagazine.com
the light areas of Alice’s hair
with permanent yellow green
and yellow ochre, I made
sure that none of the strokes
were as light as the highlight
on her shoulder. At this
stage I also continued add-
ing more color to the deer.
8. BUILD UP BACKGROUND
AND FOREGROUND: I went
back in to the background to
develop a more expressive,
abstract approach. I used
green in horizontal strokes
and applied black, dark
blue and brown in vertical
strokes. I added a few light
lines on the upper portion of
the painting to balance the
composition. Next, I built
up the blouse, introducing
different pinkish
and grayish hues.
Painting all the
nuances of color
and value in the
blouse was the
most challenging.
9. ADD DETAIL AND
PATTERN: During
the final stage
of painting Alice
and Deer in the
Enchanted Forest
(pastel on sanded
paper, 18x23), I
aimed to “push
and pull” Alice
into sharp focus. I
continued to work
on the blouse to a
high degree of fin-
ish, capturing the
dot pattern with
madder carmine.
Most of the dots
applied subtly.
Next, going back to the
background, I re-established
the darks. Finally, I added
touches of colors that I had
used on Alice’s blouse to the
antlers. I refined the edges
and colors all over the paint-
ing. Feeling that I had con-
veyed the desired mood and
captured the magic of this
scene, I signed the piece! ■
 Brushing Up
By Betsy Dillard Stroud and John Salminen

True Grit
Simulate the stained and spattered patterns on weathered city walls
with masking fluid, a mouth atomizer and a scrap of window screen.

JOHN SALMINEN’S WATERCOLOR CITYSCAPES speak of
the smells, textures and ambience of place. Part of
the efectiveness of Red Scarf (above) and Main Street
Queens (page 26) arises from the convincing speckles
and splatters on the grimy city walls. He achieves this
realistic efect with an unusual combination of tool,
technique and ingenuity.
ABOVE: The painting Red Scarf (trans-
parent watercolor on paper, 30x37¾)
depicts an ancient wall in the mountain
city of Lushan, China. Salminen used
the atomizer-and-screen masking tech-
nique for the larger, random texture; he
sprayed paint with the atomizer alone
for the finer, more regular texture.

22 artistsmagazine.com
3
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Brushing Up
demo MASKING FLUID SPATTERS
1 2
STEP 1: With an abstract
line drawing, Salminen sets
up the composition of the
patterns on the wall.
STEP 2: He then applies an
underpainting on the wall
area, using both warm and
cool colors to provide a
mid-value base.
MATERIALS
SURFACE: Arches 140-lb.
cold-pressed paper
WATERCOLORS: Daniel
Smith and Stephen
Quiller
BRUSHES: 3-inch Robert
Simmons Skyflow flat
wash, 1- to 2-inch flats,
2- and 3-inch hakes, Nos.
4 to 10 rounds, old brush
to apply masking fluid
OTHER: Winsor & Newton
Art Masking Fluid (undi-
luted), Pat Dews mouth
atomizer, piece of window
screen
24 artistsmagazine.com
demo continued on page 26
STEP 3: Next, using an
old brush, he paints full-
strength Winsor & Newton
masking fluid onto a piece
of ordinary window screen
taped onto a cardboard
frame. Holding the screen
fairly close to the surface
of the painting, he uses a
mouth atomizer to blow a
strong column of air through
the screen, causing the
masking fluid to hit the
paper in a random pat-
tern (see What Is a Mouth
Atomizer, at right). A straw
or small-gauge tube could 3
be used in place of a mouth
atomizer.
Salminen then brushes
masking fluid directly on his
painting, creating shapes
that suggest the remnants
What Is a Mouth Atomizer? A mouth
atomizer is a device consisting of two tubes, either
of old graffiti and stains
hinged or permanently fixed at the proper angle with
left on an aging wall. Once
a crosspiece. With the tubes forming a right angle,
the masking fluid dries,
the artist submerges the end of the narrower tube into
Salminen floods the wall
paint or other liquid and then blows into the wider tube,
with dark neutral washes.
creating an evenly sprayed mist. I prefer the Pat Dews
atomizer (above), which is fixed at the proper angle.
It’s more expensive than a hinged atomizer, but I find
the fixed-angle version more durable and easier to use.
–John Salminen, The Artist’s Magazine, March 2011.
get ART
SMART
and SAVE
Join the online North Light VIP Program
today for exclusive savings on the tools
and inspiration you need to create
successful art! You’ll save on books,
videos, magazines and so much more!

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Brushing Up

This article
was adapted
from Watercolor
demo continued from page 24 Masters and
Legends by BETSY
DILLARD STROUD
(betsydillardstroud.
com) with permis-
sion of North Light
Books, an imprint of
F+W Media, Inc.

This past June,

JOHN SALMINEN
(johnsalminen.
com) became one
of four artists to
be honored by
the Transparent
Watercolor Society
of America with
the newly cre-
ated status of
Distinquished
Master. His lat-
est book is John
Salminen: Master
of the Urban
Landscape.

4
STEP 4: When the washes dry,
Salminen removes the mask-
ing fluid. A credible textured
and stained wall appears.
To complete the aging
process, he adds sprayed
texture, using the mouth
atomizer (without the screen)
and watercolor instead of
masking fluid. ■
To obtain a copy of
these books, visit
ABOVE: Main Street
your local bookstore
or our online store
Queens (transparent
at northlightshop.
watercolor on com, or call
paper, 29x21) 855/842-5267.

26 artistsmagazine.com
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 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
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 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

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AN INSISTENT OTHER WORLD
For decades, William Bailey’s elegantly wrought, interior sense of form and
order has resulted in a compelling body of work that seems to represent a
world at once remote from and more visible than the one we live in.
By Richard Stull
 THE FIRST WALKTHROUGH
Stepping away from the busy street
in New York City and into the
William Bailey exhibition at the Betty
Cuningham Gallery, you quickly
sense a change of tone and see one
after another highly formal, elegant
compositions of seemingly everyday
objects—pitchers, saucers, bowls,
vases, funnels and eggs—that Bailey
has been consistently creating for the
past several decades. You might ask,
“Haven’t I seen these Bailey paintings
again and again?” But as the contem-
porary American poet John Ashbery,
in a diferent context (“he Skaters”),
32 artistsmagazine.com
put it, “here has, however, been this interiors. Like Hopper’s, Bailey’s
change, so complete as to be invisible.” creations convey that impenetrable,
You also see smaller pictures with isolated dramatic moment. What, if
human igures, which appear faintly anything, of importance has just hap-
reminiscent of Edward Hopper’s pened? Whose shirt is that? What
paintings of men and women in stark is the young woman gazing at in
“I admire painters who can work directly
from nature, but for me that seems to lead
to anecdotal painting. Realism is about
interpreting daily life in the world around
us. I’m trying to paint a world that’s not
around us.” WILLIAM BAILEY
Night Niccone Valley (above left)? Is
someone approaching or retreating?
Perhaps she is merely staring into
the night.
Suddenly, back in the gallery,
you ind yourself at the end of the
irst room, staring over a banister into
a second room. On the walls below
there are larger igurative paintings
of an entirely diferent character than
the smaller ones behind you.
he irst paintings on the lower
loor are a couple of compositions
similar to, though slightly diferent
from, the ones upstairs. Two stun-
ning paintings dominate the room:
Afternoon in Umbria (not shown) and
Primavera (above). he two young
women relaxing in Afternoon in
Umbria are the same models seen in
many of Bailey’s paintings; they’re
also wearing the same clothes, though
the paintings were done six years
apart from one another.
You note the impeccable surfaces
of Bailey’s paintings—they resemble
tempera painting, but they’re oil;
maybe the surfaces are a result of a
matte varnish of Bailey’s concoction.
You may glance upward at a painting
or two on the upper level (one of the
many subtle pleasures of the Betty
ABOVE:Primavera (oil on linen, 65x75)
and Afternoon in Umbria (not shown;
painted with the same models and
landscape, but the models are prone)
form a striking pair.
OPPOSITE: The stark interior and
exterior along with the ambiguous
but dramatic reality in Night Niccone
Valley (oil on linen, 401⁄8 x481⁄8)
evokes Edward Hopper.
OPENING SPREAD: Bailey often repeats
objects in his series, and the objects
in Reprise (oil on linen, 30x40) also
show up in several other paintings at
the gallery.
NOVEMBER 2016 33
Cuningham Gallery), and then some- of a receptive viewer. It’s one of the three objects: three white eggs and
thing curious happens. You decide to great virtues of his work. one brown egg. he arrangement and
retrace your steps to the upper gallery color scheme are, in each one, com-
and start all over again. h is time, THE SECOND TAKE pletely diferent. In his incisive study
though, you choose to linger before Starting again from the beginning, of Bailey’s paintings, the poet Mark
each painting, giving each one closer you encounter Septet I (not shown), Strand claims that these compositions
attention. his is part of the insis- Septet II (above) and Septet III (oppo- are not still lifes in the sense that we
tence that Bailey’s paintings demand site). Each contains the same or similar generally or historically think of still
lifes, because they don’t belong to a
sequence of events or in other words,
a drama. Strand also makes a passing
“I begin by visualizing a situation—a few comparison of these “un-still lifes” to
objects arranged on a plane or figures in a the gathering of igures in some of
particular place. I may draw many variations Piero della Francesca’s paintings. he
Italian artist’s Montefeltro Altarpiece,
as I muse on what they suggest. Finally, also referred to as the Brera Madonna,
without reference to the drawings, I begin comes to mind.
the painting with an open attitude using But isn’t there a drama of sorts in
both Bailey’s and Francesca’s paint-
the memory of my experience with the early
ings? It’s not the drama of genre
variations.” WILLIAM BAILEY, IN THE CATALOG TO HIS painting, in which some Scottish
SHOW AT THE BETTY CUNINGHAM GALLERY scoundrel snatches a baby from an

34 artistsmagazine.com
imploring woman’s arms, nor is it the
drama of Goya’s iring squad. It’s a
drama that has taken place somewhere
on some other plane, perhaps in the
painter’s mind as the work progresses.
Wherever this drama has occurred
and whatever its nature, it has
resulted in a profound stillness.
his stillness is an aesthetic conse-
quence of the drama. his is what you
are left to confront in Bailey’s spectac-
ular compositions—the indisputable
and inexplicable arrangement of mys-
terious objects. You must recognize
and absorb the colors and hues and
their efects, the not quite identiiable
surfaces and the beautiful delinea-
tion of light over the whole surface.
(What, after all, are the objects rest-
ing on in Straniero (page 36): a table,
a slab of marble or simply a length of
color that’s an irrefutable element of
the composition?)
After enough time contemplating
ABOVE:“Realism,” Bailey says, “is
about interpreting daily life in the
world around us. I’m trying to paint a
world that’s not around us.” Here is
Septet III (oil on linen, 18x24).
OPPOSITE: The musical connotations
of instruments or voices associated
with the title for Septet II (oil on linen,
18x24) are entirely appropriate, or in
tune with, Bailey’s multifaceted world.

A Note on Bailey’s Working Procedure Bailey has said many times that he doesn’t look at any setups or models
as he paints his compositions. He creates the objects and the figures from memory. He works out the composition, the color
scheme and the light and shading as formal matters on the canvas. Barnett Newman once said admiringly of Ingres that it was
obvious that the French artist spent more time studying the canvas than looking at his model. Bailey’s eyes must always be fixed
on the canvas. This procedure of relying upon the imagination and the eye is true of Bailey’s still lifes as well as his paintings
inhabited by human figures. It should be mentioned that Bailey does use models while drawing. It may be the memory of these
drawings that infuses the imagined objects and figures of the paintings.

NOVEMBER 2016 35
these works, no viewer can think
that Bailey has been doing the same
painting for 30 years. Still, you can
imagine the same complaint lev-
eled at Barnett Newman, Mondrian,
stretches of Ingres and Vermeer. he
grounds for a refutation of such a
claim on all of these artists lie in the
grasping of the aesthetics at work.
Still, Bailey’s insistence on his
otherworldly sense of order has
“I think of my paintings as places—not as things.”
WILLIAM BAILEY, IN THE BETTY CUNINGHAM CATALOG
36 artistsmagazine.com
been a consistent element over the
years. hat the results are hard won
by painterly skill, temperament and
intelligence may not mean that much
to people who don’t share Bailey’s
obvious desire and belief in the
virtues of such order.
Back downstairs, you may ind
it impossible not to concentrate on
Afternoon in Umbria and Primavera.
here seems to have been nothing
ABOVE: The Italian word Straniero (oil
on linen, 30x36) can mean “stranger”
or “foreigner,” or even reference a
foreign country.
ABOVE RIGHT: It’s tempting to think of
Blues (oil on linen, 30x40) as referring
to the color choices Bailey made in
this painting. Actually, the meanings
of his titles are rarely transparent.
BOTTOM RIGHT: The William Bailey
installation at the Betty Cuningham
Gallery showed Bailey’s latest figure
and still life paintings through June 11.
 WILLIAM BAILEY was
born in Council Bluffs,
Iowa. He attended
the School of the Arts
at the University of
Kansas followed by two
years in the U.S. Army
during the Korean War.
He then studied with
Joseph Albers at Yale
University, receiving
both a bachelor of fine
arts and a master of
fine arts degree. He
later served as Dean
at Yale University
School of Art. Bailey
now divides his time
between homes in New
Haven, Conn. and in
Italy’s Umbria region.
The artist is repre-
sented by the Betty
Cuningham Gallery in
New York City (betty
cuninghamgallery.com).

quite like them in Bailey’s oeuvre
until the year 2010. Both paintings
display a classical grace of composi-
tion mixed with the contemporary
frankness of the igures. hough
Balthus comes to mind, here
there’s none of that painter’s sexual
innuendo. he memory of some
Raphael Madonna may too drift by,
but Bailey’s paintings are free from
the distraction of holiness.
To steal again from Mark Strand’s
essay, “hey [Bailey’s paintings]
present us with a version of timeless-
ness, of things disposed to perfection.”
his estimation is as true today as it
was in 1987. Most impressively, the
late paintings continue to remain
untainted by the poignancy usually
associated with that ever-present and
cranky dimension: time. ■
RICHARD STULL lives in Newburgh, New
York. He shares a small 100-year-old house
overlooking the Hudson River with Karen
Cissel, their fine beagle Jack Sprat and a
kitten, Rosie.

NOVEMBER 2016 37
 child’s
PLAY An artist tells the
story behind a panorama
commemorating a patron of
children’s education in the arts.
By Robert Barrett

38 artistsmagazine.com
 DURING THE SUMMER OF 2013, the David O. McKay School of Education ABOVE: Children’s
Celebration of the
D at Brigham Young University (BYU) contacted me to see whether I’d be Arts (oil on canvas,
interested in a project. The McKay School dean at that time, K. Richard 60x132)

Young, had spearheaded the commission of a large mural-like painting that would
honor Beverley Taylor Sorenson, who had given a substantial endowment to the
school to encourage children’s education in the arts.
The McKay School was considering several artists for the project, and I was
invited to submit a proposal. Finding the opportunity exciting, I agreed to create a
concept drawing.

NOVEMBER 2016 39
 1
1. CONCEPT: MAYPOLE
CELEBRATION
At the time I created my
initial drawing, the eventual
placement and exact dimen-
sions of the painting were
still under consideration, but
the concept of children’s edu-
cation in the arts was a given.
The idea of a celebration of
40 artistsmagazine.com
the arts emerged through
my preliminary work and
conversations with the McKay
School assistant dean, Al
Merkley, and the director of
the Beverly Taylor Sorenson
BYU ARTS Partnership,
Cally Flox (my client). I
decided a maypole would
feature prominently in the
composition. Sorenson was
Queen of the May when she
was 6 years old and, during
the festivities, she danced
around a maypole with other
children. That early memory
of being made to feel special
fueled Sorenson’s passion for
helping children develop their
potential by fostering their
natural inclinations through
the teaching of the arts. As
Sorenson put it, “That’s what
little children do: They sing,
they dance, they play and
they create.”
In my concept, multiple
disciplines, including visual
arts, music, dance and
theater, were represented in
 3
4 SURFACE
the maypole celebration, and
children were cast into roles
indicating those different
art forms (See Child Muses,
page 42). Perhaps because
I’m a visual artist, I featured
the visual arts prominently
through a foreground figure.
Balloons added an extra
celebratory note.
In due time, I learned
that the McKay School
dean, working with a com-
mittee, had awarded me the
commission.
OPPOSITE TOP: 1. Concept 2. COLOR STUDY
drawing (pencil on bond Creating a color compre-
paper, 8x14½) hensive was the next step.
I wanted colors that would be
OPPOSITE BOTTOM: 2.
indicative of the month of May,
Color comprehensive (oil
on laminated illustration which is not early spring but
board, 8x14½) also not full-blown summer.
I thought the cooler colors of
TOP: 3. Comprehensive green and blue would work
drawing (pencil on as an effective background
Strathmore 400 series and also provide a contrast
bristol vellum, 12¼x28)
with the livelier colors of the
ABOVE: 4. Back of
foreground figures. Using my
support panels, rein- drawing as a guide, I com-
forced and resting on pleted a color study, which
two easels the committee also approved.
3. COMPREHENSIVE
DRAWING
By this time, the exact size
of the painting (60x132) and
location of installation (with
its back below the windows
above the west entrance
of the McKay building) had
been determined. Based
on this information, I did a
comprehensive tonal drawing,
adjusting the original compo-
sition to be a bit longer. After
this drawing was approved,
I took it to a printer to be
transferred to an acetate
transparency. My plan was
to grid the transparency and
project it onto a canvas panel.
4. SUPPORT AND
I built a support with birch
panels, which I strengthened
with cross beams on the
back. After transporting the
support to my studio, I rolled
out and trimmed the gessoed
canvas I’d ordered for the
project, and stretched and
stapled it onto the face of
the birch panels. Because of
the large size of the surface/
support assemblage, I set it
up on two easels.
NOVEMBER 2016 41
 models
CHILD MUSES
Three of my grandchildren
and several neighbor chil-
dren acted as models for
Children’s Celebration of
the Arts, but I didn’t begin
working with these models
until the comprehensive
drawing (image 3, page 41)
had been approved. My wife,
Vicki, and I made a list of
children we thought might be
good choices, and then Vicki
approached their parents.
The drawing determined
the composition and posi-
tion of the models, so Vicki
told the parents what their
children should wear and
bring with them to the studio.
Once they arrived, I asked
them to assume the poses
indicated in my drawing.
I felt involving the children in
the process by showing them
the drawing and describing
what they were supposed to
be doing—and why—was
important. Of course, they
couldn’t assume the exact
poses I’d drawn, but the
poses they did assume were
close and often better.
I worked with no more
than three children at a time,
usually with the mothers in
the studio as well. I photo-
graphed each model multiple
times and worked primarily
from those images. You can
see a few of those photos
here, although, when paint-
ing, I usually worked from
several reference images of
any one child.

42 artistsmagazine.com
 5
5. PROJECTED
TRANSPARENCY
I gridded the canvas to cor-
respond to the grid on the
transparency. Then, using
an overhead projector, I pro-
jected the transparency onto
the canvas and transferred
the comprehensive drawing
to scale. I could project only
a portion of the transparency
at a time so, as I progressed
in transferring the drawing,
I moved the projector along
a chalk line on the floor to
avoid distortion.
TOP: 5. Transparency 6. UNDERPAINTING
partially projected onto Once I’d transferred the
canvas drawing, I applied an under-
painting with burnt-sienna oil
ABOVE: 6. Underpainting
paint. I left the lighter values
in burnt sienna
and highlights unpainted.
NOVEMBER 2016 43
 7
7. OVERALL WARM
WASH
I then painted a warm-
colored wash of yellow ochre
and cadmium yellow light
over the entire surface. This
wash would provide a com-
plement in temperature to
the cool colors I’d apply over
it. I knew that warm color
notes would show through
areas of the finished painting,
contributing to the sense of a
sunny May day.
44 artistsmagazine.com
8. BLOCK IN OF
COLORS
My approach in painting is
to work on multiple parts
simultaneously, not finishing
any one area at the expense
of the others. This process
keeps all parts of the painting
consistent with each other.
In image 8, you can see that
I’ve blocked in all the colors.
MATERIALS
SURFACES: bond paper (for concept drawing); lami-
nated illustration board (for color comprehensive);
Strathmore vellum Bristol 400 series paper (for
comprehensive drawing); gessoed canvas, stapled
onto birch-reinforced panel while being painted, then
restretched onto museum stretcher bars when finished
MEDIA: graphite (for concept and comprehensive draw-
ings), Rembrandt and M. Graham oils (for color com-
prehensive and painting)
OIL MEDIUM: Winsor & Newton Liquin
BRUSHES: Silver Brush Grand Prix bristle filberts and
Renaissance sable cat’s tongues, Rosemary & Co. fil-
berts, Connoisseur sable rounds; sizes range from No.
20 for looser lay in to No. 6 for more finished work.
VARNISH: Liquitex Soluvar gloss varnish
 9

LEFT TOP: 7. Warm 9. FINAL ADJUSTMENTS
wash My client asked me to repaint
the second figure from the
LEFT BOTTOM: 8. Color right, adding more motion.
block-in
This I did, also changing the
ABOVE: Children’s
girl’s dress to a more play-
Celebration of the ful outfit. I then added an
Arts (oil on canvas, additional figure beside the
60x132) one I’d changed. Most of
the children featured in the
painting had been able to
stop by and see themselves
emerge as the painting pro-
gressed, which was a lot of
fun. On one occasion, one of
the girls brought me a bou-
quet of handpicked flowers
with a card that said my art
“inspired her.”
With the final painting
adjustments made, I allowed
the oils to dry and then
applied Liquitex Soluvar gloss
varnish, which provided an
archival coating that would
be easy to remove, should
that become necessary.
John Adams, who works at
the BYU Museum of Art,
restretched the canvas on
museum stretcher bars,
and Children’s Celebration
of the Arts (above and on
pages 38–39) was ready for
installation. ■

ROBERT BARRETT has been painting

his entire life, having grown up with parents
who both drew and painted. He started his
formal art education at the University of Utah
(Salt Lake City), where he earned a bachelor of
fine arts degree. Later, at the University of Iowa
(Iowa City), he earned a master of arts degree
in painting, followed by a master of fine arts
degree. He then studied for a year in Berlin as
the recipient of a German Academic Exchange
Grant, after which he began freelancing and
working as an in-house illustrator for design
studios. He became a full-time faculty member
of Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) in
1982. His book, Life Drawing: How to Portray
the Figure With Accuracy and Expression, is
available at northlightshop.com.

Visit Barrett’s website

ONLINE:
at roberttbarrett.com.

NOVEMBER 2016 45
 CAUGHT IN THE ACT
The world’s in flux, and David Shevlino, Mark Heine and Susan Grossman
meet the challenge of conveying life in motion. By Holly Davis
46 artistsmagazine.com
 MATERIALS
SURFACES: ¼-inch
medium density
fiberboard panels
primed with Golden
acrylic gesso (for
small works); oil-
primed linen (for
large works)
OILS: mostly
Gamblin and
Rembrandt
MEDIUMS: Gamblin
Galkyd, Gamblin
Gamsol (for a clean,
odorless solvent)
BRUSHES:
Rosemary & Co
Ivory synthetic flats
and filberts; some-
times inexpensive
natural bristle chip
brushes for big,
loose paint applica-
tion on large works

LEFT: Pollina (oil on

panel, 15x14)

OPPOSITE: Leaping
Figure (oil on
canvas, 45x40)

David Shevlino GLIMPSES OF TIME

WHETHER DEPICTING a diver in midair
or a less obviously active individual
who’s merely bending, twisting or
stretching, David Shevlino conveys a
sense not only of movement but also of
time. His brushy strokes and blurred
edges suggest a before and after, a
painterly version of time-lapse photog-
raphy. “A while ago,” says Shevlino, “I
realized that what I like most when I
see a model is what happens between
poses. I’d rather capture a moment
when a model is getting up, sitting
down, bending or dressing. hose
glimpses of time are ininitely more
interesting to me than a static pose.”
During a modeling session,
instead of suggesting a gesture or
position, Shevlino asks his mod-
els to move around while he snaps
pictures, a few hundred pictures, in
fact; his DSLR camera shoots sev-
eral frames per second. h is works
for the less active igures, but for the

TIP: Draw on basics: “From an early age, I was drawn to Renaissance and Baroque painters, far more so than
20th-century artists. I have a particular fondness for Rembrandt. Though the influence of the old masters may not be overtly
noticeable in my present work, what I’ve taken away from studying those artists is a great love and respect for craft, particularly
drawing skills. I’d find it difficult to paint the way I do without a solid foundation in drawing.” DAVID SHEVLINO

NOVEMBER 2016 47
 more athletic movements, such as
diving, he searches for photos on the
Internet. “It would be logistically dif-
icult for me to hire a swimmer who
can do a high dive in the right pool in
the right light on a clear day,” he says.
After collecting his reference material,
he’ll pick his favorite images and then
piece together one composition image
with Photoshop.
Viewing the loose, spontaneous
quality of his brushstokes, one might
suppose that Shevlino paints alla
prima—all at once—but that sup-
position would be false. “Some of my
paintings are alla prima, but most are
painted in multiple sessions, wet into
dry,” says Shevlino. “I like to paint
over old works so that I have some
layer of paint underneath. I like to
build up the paint surface and scrape
away to expose underlying layers.”
Shevlino’s igures are not only
poised between moments, but also
between representation and abstrac-
tion. “Conveying motion in the
igure is conducive to abstracting it,”
says Shevlino, “but there’s a middle
ground I’m seeking. I want to hold
on to formal elements of drawing
and form, yet lose or blur parts of the
igure and integrate it with the back-
ground. Going too far in either direc-
tion leaves me dissatisied. It means
inding a place between realism and
abstraction.”

Learn about Shevlino’s workshops and

videos at davidshevlino.com.

LEFT TOP: Male

Diver (oil on panel,
19x17)

LEFT BOTTOM: Race

Horse (oil on panel,
11x14)

48 artistsmagazine.com

Mark Heine PLAY OF LIGHT IN WATER
MARK HEINE’S SIREN SERIES of oil
paintings, a tour de force addressing
themes of loss, sacriice and restora-
tion, visualizes key moments in a
young adult novel Heine wrote dur-
ing his 2014 trans-Paciic voyage on
a 32-foot sailboat. Set in the here and
now, the story fuses Greek mythology,
upon which the characters (Sirens)
are loosely based, with the mythol-
ogy of the indigenous Coast Salish
peoples of Western North America.
“he tale examines humankind’s
ambiguous and destructive relation-
ship with the natural world, as seen
by creatures who inhabit the world’s
oceans,” says Heine.
Consequently, Heine not only
paints the igure in motion, but also
adds the complication of setting the
igure underwater. He has, however,
used to his advantage the visual distor-
tions of water: Swirling patterns and
exaggerated color and value changes,
created by underwater movements and
relections, contribute to the illusion of
movement in his paintings. “he sus-
pension of gravity adds a surreal sense
of frozen motion through hair, fabrics
and environmental detritus,” says
ABOVE:Imminent,
Study (oil on
canvas, 30x36)
Heine. “Surface ripples fracture the
light into a web of texture that washes
over and around the subjects. his
rolling light contributes greatly to the
sense of motion, adding secondary and
tertiary levels of background kinetics.”
Working with three underwater
cameras mounted to one pistol-grip
handle, Heine shoots his reference
material of the beaches of Vancouver
Island. “he climate is a challenge,”
says Heine. “Shooting is restricted
to the hottest days of summer in a
speciic location with west-facing
afternoon sun, privacy, and good
NOVEMBER 2016 49
50 artistsmagazine.com
 LEFT: Atonement,
Study (oil on
canvas, 30x30)

OPPOSITE TOP:
Salvation (oil on
canvas, 45x54)

OPPOSITE BOTTOM:
Resurrection, Study
(oil on canvas,
24x48)

MATERIALS
SURFACE: 2-inch
deep stretcher can-
vas, custom ordered

OILS: Winsor &

Newton Artisan
Water Mixable Oil
Colour

MEDIUM: Winsor
& Newton Artisan
Water Mixable
Stand Oil

BRUSHES: Opus
Mezzo and Legato
(early stages);
Winsor & Newton
Galeria (later stages)

water clarity during the algae blooms
of summer heat.” he models, Heine’s
daughter Sarah and family friend
Erica Enwright, wear diaphanous,
lowing attire designed by Heine and
his wife, Lisa Leighton, a costume
designer for theater and i lm.
An intense 15-minute shoot
yields about 600 images. “he spon-
taneity of this method,” says Heine,
“and its improvisational nature are
far better than anything I could pre-
conceive or manage in the moment,
with fabric loating everywhere and
both Lisa and me in the water try-
ing to keep the models safe in the
tangles of wet cloth.” Back in the
studio, Heine combines photos to
create a digital compositional image
that meets his aesthetic standards and
its his storyline—a task he consid-
ers the most challenging part of his
process, taking up to three weeks per
composition.
He paints alla prima, appropri-
ately, with water-mixable oils, mak-
ing critical adjustments to color and
other efects. Familiarity with the
ocean is key. “I’ve learned the charac-
teristics of this unique environment,”
says Heine. “By manipulating them,
I can exaggerate or minimize motion
yet still create a credible scene. I’m
presenting a newly imagined world;
accurate representation of aquatic
phenomena is vital for the suspension
of disbelief.”
Learn more about Heine’s Siren series
and novel at mheine.com. Heine’s work
is represented by Arcadia Contemporary
(arcadiacontemporary.com).

TIP: Immerse yourself: Mark Heine, whose father, Harry Heine, was a renowned maritime artist, put himself through art
school by working as a fishing guide, but he credits his trans-Pacific voyage with having the most profound effects on his cur-
rent work: “Visualizing this subsurface society in situ gave me a mental aesthetic to pursue,” says Heine. “The loneliness of
that vast expanse has crept into the work as well.”

NOVEMBER 2016 51
 Susan Grossman PURPOSE AND NARRATIVE

THE MOVING FIGURE in Susan
Grossman’s work is just one element
that contributes to the sense of a
bustling city. In her drawings, vehicles
change lanes; people pursue their
business in spite of rain or snow or
gloom; shadows and relections set
up visual rhythms. Grossman doesn’t
present merely the igure in motion,
but the city alive.
New York City, where Grossman
lives, is generally the “stage set” of her
paintings, and those familiar with
that metropolis can identify the streets
and buildings she depicts. he people,
however, are universal—a woman with
shopping bags, a child with a parent, a
cyclist maneuvering through traffic.
hose gestures and motions, as
commonplace as they may be, are
the stuf of unfolding narratives—or
dramas—that Grossman’s work
implies. “he action card has to be
set,” says Grossman, “like in a i lm:
‘Action!’ Everyone move!” Why people
are moving and what they’re mov-
ing toward is open to interpretation,
but there’s purposefulness in those
movements, a story in the making.
Grossman culls the characters in
her narratives from multiple photos
taken while she’s out and about her
daily afairs. She’ll select 100 or so to
print and, from those, she may choose
10 to work from. Her drawings are
large, but she starts right in without

TIP: Be a people watcher: “Use all the technology you can to find the thing that makes you see the motion.
When you’re drawing from life, have the model move as you draw. Look at the model, not the drawing.” SUSAN GROSSMAN

52 artistsmagazine.com
LEFT TOP: NextMove (pastel and
charcoal on paper mounted on
board, 30x35)

LEFT MIDDLE:Passage (pastel and

charcoal on paper mounted on
board, 30x40)

LEFT BOTTOM: Hastening Home

(pastel and charcoal on paper
mounted on board, 44x55)

OPPOSITE: Hold Up (pastel and

charcoal on paper mounted on
board, 35x45)

MATERIALS
SURFACE: Canson Mi-Tientes
pastel paper, purchased in
rolls and then cut and mounted
on Sintra PVC foam board to
Grossman’s specifications by
Skyframe in New York City
MEDIA: Sennelier and
Diane Townsend pastels, jumbo
soft charcoal

preliminary sketching, using Sennelier

Jumbo black pastel on paper mounted
on board. he “big chunk” of a pastel
keeps her from getting caught up in
details and lends a painterly look to
her work, an asset when depicting
rainy or otherwise atmospheric scenes.
Charcoal, which she uses on and of
throughout her process, gives her a
dusty, transparent gray. With the help
of spray i xative, she works in layers,
building from the back forward.
Working in pastel and charcoal
allows Grossman to correct propor-
tional errors and reposition igures eas-
ily. She’s not afraid to start over, and
she doesn’t permit any “preciousness”
to creep in. “Sometimes I build up the
drawing realistically and then tear it
down a bit, just by taking my hand
across a jacket, for example.” his blur-
ring of the pastel and charcoal by hand
lends a sense of motion. “If I’ve drawn
a woman moving across the street,”
says Grossman, “I can move my hand
across the drawing in that direction,
and you can feel her go a bit more.” ■

See more of Grossman’s work at

susangrossman.net.

NOVEMBER 2016 53
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
As a child, Aaron Becker learned how to draw from Ed Emberley’s
Big Drawing books and The Secret City Adventures TV show. Then Becker
worked for 10 years as a concept artist on animated films like The Polar Express,
War of the Worlds, Monster House and Beowulf. Journey happened next.
Interview by Will Hillenbrand
The setting for this interview was the Maaza Museum of International Art from Picture Books,
located on the campus of the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. Aaron Becker’s first book,
Journey, won a Caldecott Honor award in 2014. His second, Quest, was published that year. Return
(2016) is the final component of the trilogy. Always interested in children’s book illustration, Becker
worked as a designer in San Francisco before attending a children’s book conference in Monterey,
where he pitched an idea to an editor at Candlewick Press. Realizing his ambition was ahead of his
craft, he studied at Pasadena Art Center, then embarked on a decade-long career as an animator
and film designer. In 2012, he pitched another book to Candlewick; the editor who signed him on for
Journey was the one he’d met 15 years ago. Becker now lives with his family in Amherst, Mass.

WILL HILLENBRAND (WH): I’m happy to be here with a colleague who
started like a rocket shot: His first book (Journey) catapulted all the way to
a Caldecott Honor—a spectacular beginning, one that’s a story in and of
itself. I’d like to travel back to your childhood influences: favorite books or
favorite experiences that framed the person you are today.
AARON BECKER (AB): For me, it was going to the library and
getting Ed Emberley’s books on how to draw, the Big Drawing
Book series—the Big Purple Drawing Book, etc. I was a highly
sensitive child and the series was a great bridge for me, because
Emberley’s books broke the world down into simple patterns and
shapes; it was like learning with Legos, which was sort of how
my brain worked. here were no words; it was entirely image-
based teaching; one shape led to another. By the end of the
instructions you could draw something far more complex than
you thought you could, simply by using the building blocks of
drawing. For me that was the way in, and it gave me the tools
to create complex worlds on paper that I understood the rules of,
that I could organize, that made sense to me.
WH: Were there other teachers?
AB: A guy named Mark Kistler, who called himself
“Commander Mark,” had a show, he Secret City Adventures, on
PBS; he might still be around (he is). I learned how to draw in
three dimensions from him. He taught kids how to understand
form, how to make optical illusions on paper—to draw a cube
instead of a square, for instance.
His “magic words” were: foreshorten-
ing, shading, size, overlapping, contour,
OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: density. “Learn the magic words,” he
Aaron Becker hold- would say, “and you can control your
ing a copy of Jour-
paper and draw in 3-D.”
ney, his first book.
I didn’t have any art instruction in
OPPOSITE TOP RIGHT: elementary school. When I inally did,
A page from Return, in middle school, it was a very narrow-
the third part of a minded approach, where they wanted you
trilogy that began
to i ll in the lines, not go outside them.
with Journey.
If you had your own idea that wasn’t the
LEFT: Pages from assignment, it was frowned upon. I found
Quest, the second it frustrating, so I optioned out and took
book in the trilogy. music instead. So I was completely self
All illustrations are
taught until I was 27, at which point I
in watercolor and
pen and ink; books
realized I can’t draw as well as I know I
published by Can- could draw, if I just had some instruction.
dlewick Press. I applied to the ArtCenter in Pasadena
(Calif.); I went for about two semesters, to
get my foundation studies in form and shape,
shadow, contrast–all those basics. hat was my
education.
WH: Having formal instruction to me was essen-
tial, and it sounds as if it was essential to you, but
those components that are taught aren’t the end of
the endeavor.
AB: Pasadena ArtCenter was a great school
but also great at pushing out commercially
viable artists for the moment: artists who
understand form and can render things. Unless
you have something underneath fueling you—a
sensitivity, being observant of the world around
you, and unless you have an interest in story-
telling—all those skills are useless because you
become a machine.
I worked in the i lm industry for a long
time; a lot of people who work as professional
illustrators get to a certain point with the tool
kit that taught them how to render. hey know
how to be a servant to a larger artistic endeavor
like a i lm, but if they want to do their own
thing, they’re just stuck—they don’t have that
idea part.
WH: To do a single image well is a huge task in
itself, but in doing a book, you’re doing a sequence,
adding the element of time, the experience of going
from one place in this picture world to another. You
have a great sense of cinema in the way you draw the
reader in. How has cinema affected the way you see?
Figuring out camera angle, I would imagine, is really
figuring out point of view.
AB: At my i rst job after art school, I real-
ized I had never done a fully rendered image.
All I’d done was draw a lot of models, a lot of
people’s heads. I had a sense of form and line
weight, but there was a lot I didn’t know about
how to create an image. My real training in
image making was in i lm.
My job in the studio was to do color keys
for animated i lms. Color keys give the
general layout i lmmakers want to convey.

NOVEMBER 2016 55
What’s the lighting, what’s the mood? You have
to create a fully inished image for the back-
ground painting. hat was completely my train-
ing in image making and storytelling—through
i lm and concept design work.
hat said, i lm works very diferently from
a picture book where a reader gets to wander
around. In a picture book, there need to be time
and space to discover things. It’s a much quieter
medium, most successful when it forces people
to slow down.
In i lm, in contrast, you see every image for
a split second and move on to the next one. As
an artist working in i lm, your job is to show
the audience what to pay attention to. “Where
should I be looking right now?” here’s a guy
running; this is where he’s running: Bam! hat’s
the image you have to communicate.
In a picture book you can it a lot more
story on one page. You don’t have the luxury of
what we call in i lm a jump cut (a sudden shift
in time or place). As a consequence of my expe-
rience in i lm, when I’m working on a dummy
(a set of bound pages used as a model to show
the size and general appearance of a book before
it’s published), I want to move suddenly from
one place to another. It doesn’t work! Making a
book has to be a linear process, as you’re turn-
ing a page. You can’t leave a character and come
back to him.
In Return, which came out in August,
however, I do take a character and leave her (she
comes back later). hat choice comes from my
i lm background. I understand cinematic story-
telling; I want to keep the cinematic feel. here
DEFINITIONS
color key: a painting used by a film’s direc-
tor to previsualize a sequence before it heads
into final production.
concept design: visual development for
an entertainment that can involve wardrobe,
lighting, sets, props, model-making and any-
thing else the art director might need to bring
a film/book/performance to life.
dummy: a three-dimensional model of the
book including the story text and sketches; the
dummy will have the same number of pages as
the printed book.
jump cut: sudden shift in time or place in
a film or television program (and, if I can pull
it off, a wordless picture book!). Aaron Becker
56 artistsmagazine.com
are conines in terms of what you’re presenting to the reader in pic-
ture books, as well as strengths. hat’s something I wrestle with.
WH: In Journey, we go through a door and come into a new land-
scape that seems familiar to me, at least, based on my dream experiences,
rather than from cinema.
AB: Cinema is the current art form of storytelling in our cul-
ture; it’s where all the money goes. We don’t have royal families
paying for portraiture anymore; we have masses buying popcorn.
he 2000 i lm Memento, a neo-noir psychological thriller directed
by Christopher Nolan, played around with narrative structure in
terms of when and how you found out about things. he ending
came before the beginning in a dreamlike way.
What’s happening is that my generation, raised on certain
types of storytelling traditions, is starting to create our own stuf.
We’re more open to breaking the traditional narrative structures
that inform picture books. he fact that in I Want My Hat Back,
Jon Klassen creates pictures that convey a diferent meaning from
the text is a narrative jump in storytelling.
I hope I’m part of that innovation in narrative, in terms of
the wordless format of my books; I hope I’m pushing what’s pos-
sible to tell without words. It’s absolutely an interest of mine and
it comes straight from cinema. It’s what storyboard artists do.
WH: It’s what you talked about before: the difference between learn-
ing skills and having a sensitivity to what’s around you and an interest in
storytelling—the burning desires you have under your technical skill.
AB: Coming into picture books, I had this reverence. I didn’t
want to do a children’s book that didn’t aim for classic status. I
didn’t want to entertain kids or sell books; I wanted to try to
reach Maurice Sendak if I could.
I’d had a lifetime of observing these picture books and
thinking about them. hen when it came time to do one, I had to
ask, “How can I take all of my skills and put them in one book—
like a Hail Mary pass! I’m going to use the three dimensions I
know from cinema to build architecture that would be impossible
for anyone but David Macaulay to draw, and I’m going to use my
color theory that I know from ilm—but also I’m going to use my
love of classic children’s literature. I’m going to pay homage to
Where the Wild hings Are (Sendak) and Castle (Macaulay).
WH: Given your background in film, you could have done all the work
for your books digitally, but you’ve chosen watercolor and pen and ink.
AB: For each book I have dummies that are inished, pol-
ished, ready to publish, but they’re completely digital (see page
60). I ind when I look at them— it’s a hard thing to describe
but—the images lack a weight; they lack randomness; they lack a
human touch. A lot of digital artists are using tools that can cre-
ate images that imitate very well what you can do on paper, but I
don’t really know those tools.
For my books, I irst do drawings in pencil; then I pro-
duce the book digitally (the dummy); next I generate the inal
artwork. I knew that if I wanted to pay
homage to those classic books (e.g., Where
the Wild hings Are, Castle), I’d have to RIGHT: Pages from
Journey (Candlewick
use watercolor. Because of the (digital)
Press, 2013) show-
dummy, all the choices were already made. ing the progress of
I wasn’t copying necessarily one to one the heroine and her
(from the dummy to the pen and ink and red marker.
watercolor). Watercolor does things better than
digital does in some ways, but it’s not as good
at other things. It can’t get the rich, moody
feeling that digital can get, but watercolor has
a light and airy quality. If I wanted to create
the best images possible, I had to use all the
tools—digital, pen and ink, watercolor— that
were possible.
WH: You’re building your reference with the digi-
tal version, then you have to interpret that reference to
make it texturally interesting and dynamic so it comes
alive for the reader. I want the reader to respond emotionally at any given stage of
AB: At any given stage of the game, I’m the game. It goes back to what I was saying about my art train-
only worried about making one decision. If I ing. It’s easy to get art training and never be told that it’s impor-
“I DIDN’T WANT TO ENTERTAIN KIDS OR SELL
BOOKS; I WANTED TO TRY TO REACH MAURICE
SENDAK IF I COULD.” AARON BECKER
know what I want my castle to look like, and it’s
time to make my castle by putting permanent
ink onto paper, all I want to be thinking of is,
“How do I give as much life to this line as pos-
sible”—or, “how do I draw 100 tiles on top and
make them interesting?” When I’m inished
with the ink, then it’s the same thing for the
watercolor. I don’t want to think, “Should this
58 artistsmagazine.com
be a darker value?” I know (because of the digital dummy) what
I’m aiming for; it’s then only about the density of the ink, the
mixing of the ink, the wetness of the paper, the brush I’m going
to use, etc. I don’t know how guys who have those loose, crazy
styles do it; I’m too timid for that.
WH: It takes a while, going from the first mark, building the structure,
to the piece we end up looking at. The final piece has energy because of
the reference you’ve created that allows you to be free.
AB: Exactly, I can be free.
WH: This takes labor, but you want it to end up not looking like work.
AB: I deinitely don’t want to wow people through complexity.
tant to have life and emotional resonance in what
you’re doing.
What you learn, instead, is that to convey
volume, you have to have a cool light from one
window and a warm light from the other. You
end up with a highly rendered ball, that’s all.
WH: Let’s talk about your color choices: red is
important; it sends you through Journey.
AB: Red is an iconic color: he Red Balloon, Schindler’s List,
etc. You use red when you want to draw attention to the human
psyche. In Journey, the irst book of the trilogy, there was no
question ever that it would be any other color.
Purple came about deliberately because I wanted a color to
resonate with red. Purple is an interesting kind of red, so there’s
some dissonance or vibration, where you kind of want it to be
blue to ofset the red a little. Red and purple next to each other
 LEFT AND OPPOSITE:
Pages from the
second book in
the trilogy, Quest
(Candlewick Press,
2014)

AB: Sometimes I ask my wife

always have a relationship: hey’re either closer together or pushed
apart, asking themselves, am I separate, or am I the same color?
WH: Then you choose the atmosphere—you go into this green lush-
ness. You’re looking at your palette and saying, “I know where I want to
get to, but how do I get there from mark to mark or page to page?”
AB: In the i rst part of Journey, it’s about red standing out
against sepia and muted colors (in her house and room), which is
easy, but when you enter the fantasy realm and you want things
to be vibrant, you have to make that red lift of the page. How
do you make red lift of the page? You choose colors that are the
opposite on the color wheel.
By the end, in the inal book of the trilogy, Return, the red
and purple sunset is calming, because the fantasy realm (green)
is being integrated with the original, real (sepia) realm of the
bedroom. You know to look for the red but it’s lying more calmly
with the purple; you’re in the realm of magic.
WH: Your main character in Journey and Quest is female. What drew
you to her?
AB: I think as a young kid I was more interested in the things
girls were interested in. I wasn’t interested in trucks or sports or
blowing stuf up (except for Star Wars!). I wasn’t a typical boy; I
wasn’t a rough-housing kid. I identiied with the way girls play,
the way girls see the imagination and what they may use the
imagination for. Really the character is a surrogate for me.
In fact, we have a daughter who is 5 years old now; some-
times I feel slightly relieved that we didn’t have a boy, because it’s
much easier for me to know how to interact with a young girl.
WH: In your presentation at Maaza, you showed how you use photo
references to help you understand motion. Could you tell us a little
about that?
to take pictures or other times I
put my camera on a timer and run
around on the other side. I use
photo references when there’s a
pose where the weight of the body
isn’t clear to me or where the fold-
ing of the arms or the way a hand
is holding an object isn’t clear.
I ind it incredibly helpful to
look at the photo and then draw a
stick igure, as in Drawing 101. It
helps me make sure the weight is
falling on the right hip.
But that’s the most common
problem for illustrators: copying
photo references. You can get away
with it in architecture, because architecture is
still and square, but with the igure, humans
or animals, you can tell if someone has used
a photo reference. here are only a handful of
artists who can use a photo reference well, espe-
cially in watercolor. James Gurney (Dinotopia,
etc.) has a good method for using photo refer-
ences. He takes a photo, studies it and puts it
away; he doesn’t draw while he’s looking at it.
WH: The danger is forgetting why you needed the
reference. There are a lot of artists who are struggling
to be illustrators or painters who don’t grasp that.
To expand on this aspect: In your books you cre-
ate architectural wonders. How do you record, develop
or create buildings that don’t exist?
AB: I do a lot of research. I know where
I want to go, what inluences I want to com-
bine. I always want to take Asian, Moorish
and European elements, and create something
familiar but fresh.
Landscape, environment and architecture
to me are inseparable. If there’s a tree, I have to
igure out how does the tree it with the build-
ing? here’s no “story” there; it all comes out
of the sense of place. I don’t know how to tell a
story unless I know where I am. hat’s what I
establish irst. My irst drawing for Journey was
the castle.
here’s a canal system that runs through
the entire city, so I decided there was a king

NOVEMBER 2016 59
who built canals to win his wife back. She was
a mermaid.
I enjoy getting immersed in a place where
I want to be; I want to make it a place where I
would want my tree house. What would I want
it to look like? Once I’ve done that, the story
appears.
WH: We haven’t talked about a major factor: The
stories are wordless. The reader has to make choices
as to what to look at and when; there’s no written
narrative guiding her decisions.
AB: Why I decided not to have words is a
pretty substantial question, and it doesn’t have
an obvious answer. I just understand images.
When I was a kid, I didn’t read a lot. I under-
stood the world through pictures. I had an
almost synesthetic perception, understanding
emotions through pictures. Looking at pictures
and creating pictures gave me a sense of safety.
I was quantifying and grappling with reality
through images.
Telling a story through pictures is thus
completly natural to me. I did write words as
an exercise for Journey after I’d inished the you had a friend in trouble, would you help him?” he questions
dummy. It wasn’t a narrative; it was a series of were prompts for the reader to think about the experience of the
prompts. “If you had a marker that was magic, book, in contrast to her consuming the story and/or my telling
what would you do? Where would you go? If her what to think about it.

60 artistsmagazine.com

WH: You empowered the heroine by having her draw solutions that
arise from her circumstances and her dilemmas (e.g., she draws a door, a
boat, a hot air balloon, a flying carpet, etc., to allow her to go from page
to page, as she wonders, “How can I get from here to there?” For a child
or for children like we were, being able to draw was empowerment.
AB: It was. On a piece of paper you could make up all the
rules of engagement so it was free of any complications and
complexities. In the same way, Ed Emberley’s modules ease you
into drawing something complex, drawing can ease you into
something complex, i.e., reality. If a child can understand that
he’s created this world on paper that makes sense to him, it’s an
escape—but also a means to an end.
WH: Art therapists would say it helps you understand the world, gives
you the looking glass to make sense of the world that doesn’t make sense.
A child has to find a life rope. The child’s ques-
tion is, “How do I navigate the world if I’m
ABOVE: The vastness going to become an adult?” Books were my life
of the imaginary rope—and drawing myself into a world that had
world of Return solutions.
(Candlewick Press,
AB: It’s right there; it’s life.
2016)
WH: We are the lucky recipients of your
OPPOSITE BOTTOM: A beautiful, original work and we, as readers
few of the digital young and old, are grateful.
(dummy) pages Is there a lesson or advice that you could
from an early draft
give our artist readers?
of Return that did
not make it into the AB: A big thing for me was, at various
final cut. stages, getting over my fear of diferent
media. For instance, if you’ve only drawn in
pencil or ballpoint pen because that’s what’s
been available to you, and someone hands you a
much better ine tip marker, it can be intimidat-
ing. In some ways in art school, I felt all I was
paying for was the experience of experiment-
ing with oils, learning how to clean a brush
or what kind of canvas to buy. hose simple
needs in terms of materials can be a roadblock.
Sometimes you don’t have the money to buy
fancy supplies, and you think there are things
that other artists do or know that you’re missing.
My advice is to give yourself permission to go to
the art store and buy tools you’ve never used and
experiment with them.
It’s amazing how we allow ourselves to hold
ourselves back.
WH: You haven’t held back much! We can
anticipate the third book, Return, but we also can
anticipate a great deal more of the worlds you’ve cre-
ated. Beyond the third book, are there places you’re
thinking about now?
AB: I have a couple of projects I’m working
on, and neither are wordless picture books. It’s
not often that one gets the chance to explore.
It’s one thing to give permission to yourself but
the world has to give you inancial permission.
I fear doing another wordless picture book
now because it would be compared to its pre-
descessors in an unfair way. I have a lot of other
interests in storytelling: writing, working on
activity books. I want to give kids something
exciting that they can create themselves. ■
WILL HILLENBRAND has illustrated more than 60 books
for children. Among his most recent are Me and Annie
McPhee, Bear and Bunny, and All for a Dime!: A Bear
and Mole Story. To learn more about his books, book-
related activities for children and author presentations,
visit his website (willhillenbrand.com) and Facebook
fan page.
NOVEMBER 2016 61
 Ask the Experts
By Anthony Waichulis

Get a Grasp on Graphite

Move your drawings forward with a sound understanding of graphite grades,
stumps and tortillons.

ABOVE: Marks
(left to right): 8B
graphite, H graph-
Q Are all the gradations of graphite pencil hardness
really necessary? I can achieve different degrees
of darkness or lightness simply by applying more or
of “blackness” (B). he F designation,
which is near the center of the hard-
ness scale, is often thought to mean
ite, 7B graphite
rubbed with stump;
less pressure. Is there any reason why this isn’t a good “ine point”; however, some argue that
Materials (left to practice? the manufacturers chose the letter
right): General’s 6B arbitrarily. he European scale ranges
woodless graphite, Most graphite pencils manufactured today from the hardest (9H) to the softest
Staedtler Mars
Lumograph 8B
A are rated according to either a European or an
American hardness grading scale. he European sys-
(9B), with grades H, F, HB and B
populating the middle of the scale.
graphite pencil,
Staedtler Mars tem is often attributed to an early 20th-century pencil he American system is a much
Lumograph H manufacturer while the American system is attributed smaller scale, with numbered steps
graphite pencil to both Nicolas-Jacques Conté and 19th-century pencil ranging from 1 to 4. Higher numbers
(bottom and top), maker John horeau. indicate harder graphite rods. he two
tortillon, stump,
Staedtler Mars
he European system uses a 20-step scale that systems can be aligned at the follow-
Lumograph 7B employs the numbers 2 through 9 along with the let- ing scale points: 1 with B, 2 with HB,
graphite pen- ters H, B and F to communicate the material’s clay-to- 2.5 with F, 3 with H and 4 with 2H.
cil, Prismacolor graphite ratio. A graphite rod with a high clay content To determine whether one graph-
Turquoise 4B results in a harder material (H) while a rod with a lower ite hardness grade might provide an
graphite pencil
clay content will be softer, allowing for a greater range advantage over another, you need

62 artistsmagazine.com
ABOVE: My student Joe Dillon created
Portrait Sketch (10x8) using only 2B
graphite on medium-tooth paper. He
didn’t use blending tools, so you can
see the tooth of the surface.

to consider your drawing surface,

method of application and desired
inish. Rougher drawing surfaces can
typically accept and hold more loosely
bound, soft material while smoother
surfaces can facilitate the ine marks
of well-bound, harder material
without the need for surface “bite.”
Softer graphite will provide a greater
value-range potential at the cost of
a greater tooth requirement and a
quickly eroding point. Harder graph-
ite requires less tooth and can better
maintain a point; however, these clay-
rich grades yield a narrower value
range and an increased potential for
damaging the drawing surface if used
with a heavy hand.
In my drawing classes I instruct
artists to begin each drawing with the
softest material available for a number
of reasons. In addition to the poten-
tial for a greater value range, softer
materials applied with light pressure
ofer a reduced impact on surface
tooth during the earliest stages of a
drawing. his can be advantageous
for layering techniques as well as for

NOVEMBER 2016 63
Ask the Experts
removing unwanted
marks as the draw-
ing develops. I use
harder pencils in the
later stages of a drawing—
not in the broad application
of material inherent to the
early stages of a tonal work,
but in speciic surface-
reinement tasks,
such as guid-
ing previously
applied, softer
material into the
troughs of a paper’s
tooth.
In the majority of cases, you
won’t need the full continuum of
grades. To start, I recommend one
pencil from each end of the contin-
uum, along with one midrange grade.
Experiment carefully and allow your
results to determine which additional
grades would best serve your process.
GRAPHITE QUALITY GUIDELINES
Q What should I look for in a good
set of graphite pencils or sticks?
As with all other art materials,
A you’ll want to choose the speciic
materials that best facilitate your
creative process. Graphite pencils can
vary widely in quality, so be sure to
research available product reviews.
Poor quality pencils may break easily,
produce inconsistent or unpredictable
tonal qualities, and even signiicantly
damage your drawing surface.
Also remember that, although
a particular product line may have a
good reputation, mistakes and acci-
dents in manufacturing and distribu-
tion can and will happen. Defects in
the wooden pencil housing or even
in the centering of the graphite core
can severely impact pencil function.
Prior to purchase, carefully inspect
all loose pencils for any visible dam-
age. If you’re purchasing a boxed
set, take time to carefully inspect
the packaging. Damage to the mate-
rial packaging can indicate possible
damage to the fragile graphite core.
Taking a few minutes to ensure
that your materials are in tip-top
64 artistsmagazine.com
shape will reduce inconvenient and
frustrating experiences at the easel or
drawing board.
Expect to ind signiicant varia-
tion among diferent manufacturers’
product lines. Understand that an
HB pencil from one manufacturer
will not necessarily produce the same
marks as an HB pencil from another.
While many manufacturers may
share the same grading scale, internal
standards and production dynam-
ics can lead to signiicant hardness
diferences. Keep this in mind when
replacing certain grades within your
particular pencil set.
TORTILLONS OR STUMPS?
Q What’s the difference between a
paper stump and a tortillon? Is
one better than the other, or does each
have its own use?
Tortillons and stumps (also
A known as “torchons”) are paper
tools intended to manipulate dry
media such as graphite and pas-
tel. While these tools have similar
properties, small diferences in their
structure can lead to very diferent
results. I recommend experimenting
with both to discover how each may
contribute to your process.
Tortillons are made from twisted
paper that tapers at one end (the
word “tortillon” comes from the
For Bird’s Nest Study (6B,
LEFT:
2B, B, HB, and 2H graphite
pencils on medium-tooth paper,
8x10), my student Emma Hirst
used stumps and tortillons on
the nest, pushing the graphite
into the paper to fill and
obscure the tooth. In
contrast, the nest’s
shadow reveals the
tooth for a grainy,
translucent effect.
French tortiller, meaning “to twist”).
Tortillons are often far stifer than
stumps and carry many of the same
advantages and disadvantages inherent
to harder drawing tools. For example,
a tortillon will typically have a smaller
contact surface and a more resilient
point. However these properties also
carry an increased risk of damage
to the tool or drawing surface from
excessive pressure and friction.
Stumps are solid cylinders of
paper pulp with tapers or points at
both ends. Stumps are often lon-
ger and more bulky than tortillons.
hey have a less resilient point and
a slightly greater contact surface.
Because of this, a stump often carries
or moves more material compared to
the smaller, harder tortillon.
Both tools will ultimately
become contaminated with the
materials they manipulate. Material
buildup can be minimized by occa-
sionally wiping the point on a clean
piece of paper during use. Artists
usually throw away contaminated
tools; however, you can extend the
life of stumps and tortillons by clean-
ing the contact surface with an eraser,
sandpaper or emery board. ■
ANTHONY WAICHULIS (anthonywaichulis.
com), noted for his trompe l’oeil work,
created the curriculum for the international
Ani Art Academies (aniartacademies.org).
Call for Entries EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE: 12 .1.16

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 Road Test
By Cole Carothers

Have Canvas Kit, Will Travel

Fredrix Pro Dixie Canvas Kit comes in a box that one artist bundled (along with
paints and tools) into the car before he took to the open road.

LEFT: Nero d’Avola

(oil on canvas,
40x40)

OPPOSITE BOTTOM:
Work in Progress
(oil on canvas,
40x40)

assemble the 40x40

canvas. he kit
includes quality
Fredrix Pro Dixie
12-oz. titanium
white primed
canvas, stretcher
bars, corner braces,
screws, wedges,
and a device called
the Fredrix Clever
Lever. One edge
of the canvas is
already attached to
the stretcher bar.
here are instruc-
tions for assembly
laid out like a story-
board with no text.
Fredrix ofers an
instructional video
online, too (fredrix
artistcanvas.com/
pro-dixie-kit).

FOR THE FREDRIX PRO DIXIE CANVAS KIT, I’m taking this
Road Test literally. It was shipped to me in one 5x6x51-
inch box; I packed it into my car along with my paints,
brushes, and all the sundry materials I need for oil
painting. Because I’d have to assemble the canvas later,
I also packed a staple gun and staples, two screwdrivers
(a lat head and a Phillips) and a rubber mallet.
When I arrived at my destination, it was time to
PUTTING IT
TOGETHER
I had either the loor, a table or my
bed for a work area. I chose the bed
because I was pretending I was trav-
eling like Edward Hopper and stay-
ing in a motel room. he bed could
also accommodate the whole canvas
laid lat (page 68).
I advise you to lay the canvas out

66 artistsmagazine.com
with stretchers and corner braces and
then take a minute to study the story-
board instructions. Also, observe the
proi le of the stretcher bars because
you want to be sure to join them to
the one with the preattached canvas
showing the channels for the corner
braces and the Clever Lever.
I think it would help if Fredrix
stamped the stretchers with icons or
words indicating the channel for the
corner braces, which would avoid
confusion between the channel for
the corner brace and the one for the
time. he heavy wood stretcher bars
are kiln-dried i r, and that made it
easy to secure the braces to them.
THE CLEVER LEVER
With the stretcher assembled comes
the breakthrough moment. he
Fredrix Clever Lever is a lat piece of
hardboard panel that is cut to it the
entire length of each stretcher bar.
<gVÑm Films >\c^iZ ndjg b^mZY bZY^V egdXZhh  XgZVi^k^in#
®
Two levers are included. By placing
the lever upright against the upper
channel’s edge on the stretcher oppo-
site the pre-attached side, you fold
the edge of the canvas over the top
edge of the lever and temporarily grip
it with the (provided) grooved wood
blocks. his allows you to stretch the
canvas over the entire length of one
side in a singular movement. he

Clever Lever (see labels on middle

photo, page 68). It’s conceivable that
one might attach all the corner braces
on the upper channel and then ind HiZcX^a! EV^ci! 8daaV\Z! bdcdeg^ci!
that he can’t use the Clever Lever.
he corners it snugly, so I used
h]g^c`! eg^ci! igVch[Zg! _djgcVa
my mallet to tap them in. With a
little wiggling, the corners closed
together along the mitred edges. It’s
important to make sure everything’s
square before stapling. he corner-to- Ign <gVÑm GjW"dco! H]g^c` ;^ab! >begZhh Eg^ci BZY^V! www.grafixarts.com
corner diagonal distances ought to be 8dbejiZg <gVÑm VcY 9jgV"AVg ;^ab info@grafixarts.com

indentical, and the miter braces ought

to it cleanly against the edges of the
channel. hey did.

THE GREATEST
I then followed the storyboard
and attached the four corner braces.
An electric drill with a screwdriver bit
would have cut the time considerably,
but I used a simple Phillips screwdriver,
because I had wanted to travel light
and see how few tools I might take on
the road. Six screws per corner, by hand,
6 100+ workshops filling up fast!
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NOVEMBER 2016 67
Road Test

LEFT: Lacking a work table, I put the

Fredrix Dixie Canvas on the bed.

LEFT MIDDLE: the channels, where you

have to join the stretcher bars, for the
corner brace and the Clever Lever

BOTTOM: A corner brace properly

aligned to the stretcher bars; The cor-
ner braces should fit without gaps in
the lower channels of each side.

lever, while taut with the canvas, piv-

ots downward toward the center like
a hinged shutter. Once it’s lat to the
stretcher, it’s easy to hold in place
with one hand while stapling the
canvas to the stretcher with the other.
Use the wood blocks and lever in the
same way to do the third and fourth
sides. I couldn’t photograph the lever
corner brace

in action; my hands were busy. (To

see how it works, go to fredrixartist
canvas.com/pro-dixie-kit).
he Clever Lever works great
and the inished canvas is nicely taut.
Using the Fredrix Pro Dixie saves you
loads of time (as opposed to doing
it with canvas pliers), but the real
corner brace improvement is that the Fredrix Pro
Dixie canvas then has a more uniform
Clever Lever tension. With canvas pliers, the grip
and pull every few inches is likely
to produce an uneven tension in the
weave, which could become problem-
atic for the paint layers later on. I also
found that it was a pleasure to work
without cramped hands, thanks to
the Clever Lever.
In all, without power tools, it took
me 45 minutes to assemble a 40x40
canvas. he Fredrix Pro Dixie canvas
has a professional weight and surface;
it’s about ¼ inch above the stretcher
and about 1⅜ inch deep. he kits
come in standard ratios: 1:1, 2:3, 3:4,
3:5, 4:5, 5:6 and 5:7. Dimensions begin
with 40x40 and extend to 72x96. If
you’re on the road and want to paint
large, the Fredrix Pro Dixie Canvas
Kit is an option I’d recommend. ■

COLE CAROTHERS has works in the col-

lections of the Cincinnati Art Museum,
Cincinnati Bell, Proctor & Gamble, etc. See
more of his work at colecarothers.com.

68 artistsmagazine.com
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NOVEMBER 2016 71
The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition 2015 Finalist

COMPETITION SPOTLIGHT

ABOVE:Just Tea (oil on

Nathan Seay canvas, 36x48)

Portland, Oregon • nathanseay.com

IN 2014, I SPENT SIX WEEKS be the focal point in the painting in sections: the Painting is challenging
living in a Buddhist temple center, but I wanted his table, the wall, the figure, etc. because we see too much.
to learn mindful living and to gaze to direct attention to I prefer using a large Work from life as much as
find answers to many of the his actions. There was a brush as often as possible. possible so you can develop a
powerful sense of observation.
questions that challenged me purposeful way in which I believe that form is impor-
at that stage of my life. Just he arranged his table, so tant, but not at the expense
Tea depicts the scene on the I chose to keep everything of evidence of the brush. My
night of my arrival. true to my perception. palette includes burnt umber, I entered the competition
I wanted Just Tea I began with a burnt umber burnt sienna, permanent because I believe part of an
large enough to immerse tonal sketch and proceeded alizarin crimson, cadmium artist’s duty is to share his
the viewer in the scene. to block in the large color red, cadmium orange, yellow work and to be a part of the
I decided the figure should shapes. I then resolved the ochre, cadmium yellow pale, greater community. We all
permanent green light, pthalo work in isolation, but it’s
COMPETITION SPOTLIGHT ARTISTS ARE CHOSEN FROM COMPETITION
green, cobalt blue, ultrama- critical to “leave the studio”
FINALISTS. VISIT ARTISTSNETWORK.COM/LEARNMORE2016 TO VIEW rine blue, dioxazine violet and and engage with fellow artists
WINNING ENTRIES FROM OUR 2015 ANNUAL ART COMPETITION. titanium white. and your audience. ■

72 artistsmagazine.com
 Enter in up to 8 categories
for your chance to shine:
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Grand Prize: $1,000
8 First Place Awards: $100 each
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The Artist’s Magazine.

EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE:
October 14, 2016

Discover more and enter online at

artistsnetwork.com/competitions/all-media-online-competition
Red (oil on board) by Britton Snyder, Sam (oil on panel) by Jane Radstrom, Resolve (colored pencil on board) by Jesse Lane, Us (mixed media on canvas panel) by Maureen S. Farrell