THE ARCHIBALD FRAUD

Unrecognised artists, it's time you know the truth. You have next to no chance of becoming a finalist in The Archibald Portrait Prize and you are wasting your time and money not to mention your hopes and aspirations. 

As usual, the 40 odd finalists came from the most successful practicing artists in Australia. 

This year, adding insult to injury, a finalist selected was a letter titled Dear Trustees (self-portrait) by artist Michael Linderman. (See attached image.) In a teenagers scrawl he implores the Trustees to select his work.

“Dear Trustees, How are you? I know you are a bit busy at present but I’m just wondering if you would consider selecting my portrait for the Archibald this year?”

He goes on with supplications, “Oh yeh, I could even pay my HECS debt, gee that really got away on me.”

The correspondence concludes with a rough sketch of himself!

Yes, Michael Lindeman is one of Sydney’s top artists having had many solo exhibitions, awards and in major collections. 

How can the Trustees describe this as a worthy entry and why are they promoting the most successful artists, rather than encouraging new and emerging ones. 

Although the will of J.F .Archibald dated 15 March 1916 stipulated  works to be “painted,”  in 2004 Craig Ruddy won with a work in charcoal and graphite. Last year the trustees accepted a work of stencil artist Luke Cornish’s portrait of Father Bob Maguire, done with aerosol sprays and 30 stencil cut-outs. With Michael Lineman's entry, the definition of “painted” has been tested yet again, this time to the ridiculous!!

Trustees, PLEASE EXPLAIN!! We all know that art is much a matter of opinion so that one mans masterpiece is another mans rubbish. But what are the criteria for judging such a prestigious competition? Are the vast number of hopeful artists wasting their time and money if they submit works?

Here is my question. Do the Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW have a vested interest in promoting this countries most successful practicing artists on behalf of the many private galleries around the country, (perhaps with some bias as the majority of finalists are NSW artists). After all unless the public become familiar with their work the business of selling art would not be nearly as profitable. 

BLOGART - THE ART OF BLOGGING

BOGART on this blog so far has been about ART.

My first blogs have been lessons in the visual, painting and drawing.

My intentions in creating this blog were to involve the visual arts only.

It now seems to me that this blog can also be an outlet for expression.

So here goes BLOGART goes Blog without discourse on "The Art of Blogging."

FACEBOOK hinders personal interaction?

The new electronic social networks such as Facebook and Twitter foster the illusion of social connectedness in modern society and I bemoan the loss of real communication

Certainly the new technology is advantageous for networking between businesses and politicians have found that the social networking sites are great to build their brand image. Obama used them to gain advantage in his Presidential campaign and now Twitter is being used as a political weapon in the Victorian election battle.

Are we breeding a socially immature generation with the inability to personally interact? There is certainly a possibility that the more technologies we have to communicate, the less we really may communicate. Virtual connections, not real ones result in a lack of personal interaction in society today.

My friends once met me to talk face to face or phoned to converse. Email though somewhat less personal, still largely involved one to one communication; question and answer exchanges.

Posting personal information on a social network isn’t about connectedness but about ego-centric exhibitionism. True friendship building is about personal interaction.

Will the changes from our physical world to a digital world be beneficial in the end?

Only time will tell, though I doubt it!

BLOGART Final Lesson (NO.6) In this series.

Start filling in the background you have selected. Be as precise as you can though freehand is better than ruled. Select a colour to blend with your figure and smudge in the pastel.

The effect that Paul Gauguin has achieved is through use of contrast which is known as Complimentary Colouring. That is the contrast between the red and green actually compliment each other.

In the next sequence of the work you can see how this is achieved.

The red and orange pattern are Complimentary and excite the eye of the observer.

You are now ready to shade the figure a little more aggressively searching the original photo for light and shadows.

The work can be finalised with contrasting whites and darker shades.

Remember, although you are copying a photo it is a creative exercise and you are in control, so be expressive and feel free to experiment with your individuality. While you are aiming at pleasing the eye and expressing your creativity, remember that a work of art is also about the ART or putting it another way, your expertise.

An artist must show competency and ability as well as creativity.

The Creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, by Michaelangelo is an example of great art, creative, imaginative and extremely competent. Michaelangelo's ability to represent the human form is legendary. His depiction of the male body is unsurpassed, yet fluid and sensual in expression and entirely pleasing. The figures are alive and the work is creative too.

You may have started this project on paper in which case your end result will not have much texture. However you can still project a contrasting image and develop a really lovely finished work full of light and shade, colour and contrasts.

Above is the finished work on paper. To get contrasting dark tones, you will note I've employed deeper tones of reds and purples. Black can be rather dull and dead.

Oranges, beiges, yellows and creams enhance the whites.

Here is the finished work on canvas.

It has texture and is softer but none the less pleasing.

It's all a matter of taste and what you wish to achieve.

Good luck with your projects and remember:-

I am available to give personal instruction in my Prahran studio.

You can contact me on 0417 566 276.

BLOGART Lesson 5.

In the last lesson I left you thinking about the background. You can chose anything but remember to be creative. This means you should think about how the figure works with your selection, for there should be some juxtaposition of texture between subject and background. A busy texture can be made to appear more realistic when it is a contrasting one. Another background choice is shown below.

This is a very busy pattern which can be useful, as would a coarse texture which would be more obvious when placed next to a smoothly blended area. A similar effect can be achieved by drawing different tones close together; a light edge next to a dark background will stand out to the eye and almost appear to float above the surface. The placement of background can make a considerable difference in the type of message that is being presented and a single light source can serve to highlight any texture or interesting features.

In the paintings shown, from left to right are:-

The Maja by Fransisco Goya, the artist has used a strong dark background to highlight his subject as well as lacy pillows. The detail of the sitters pillows contrast nicely with the flesh and the darkness.

The centre painting takes a different approach.The Birth of Venus by the Renaissance artist, Botticelli. Here we see a detailed background showing the sea, some trees, sky, a shell and of course the figure is not alone, though still the centre of attention.

On the right is a nude painted by the impressionist artist August Renoir. The background merges more with the nude though it has an abundance of light. The figure is bathed in dappled light but still stands clearly in it's own right.

If you are interested in my classes I am available to give personal instruction in my Prahran studio.

You can contact me on 0417 566 276.

BLOGART Lesson 4.

Examine "Venus at the Mirror", a study by Peter Paul Rubens the prolific 17th Century Flemish artist. His sensual works and fondness of painting full-figured women gave rise to the terms 'Rubensian' or 'Rubenesque' for plus size women. Painting female flesh was Rubens expertise using skin tone variations to highlight the the body. Rubens gave attention to the shading with varied tonal values.

Shading techniques also introduce texture to the drawing. There are a number of other methods for producing texture in the picture: in addition to choosing a suitable paper, the type of drawing material and the drawing technique will result in different textures.

Illumination is also a key element in creating an artistic piece, and the interplay of light and shadow is a valuable method for the artist.

You may now progress with your sketch to further highlight the shadows. The background shadow thrown by the body needs to be brought out. This gives the body dimension against the background. The artist needs to pay attention to the silhouette and what lies outside. In BLOGART Lesson No.1, I used the expression 'negative space' when plotting the shape. The exterior of the whole figure also has 'negative space' and is important when representing the figure too. Now is also the time to consider the form of the background. You will note that the original photo has no background so if you wish to make this picture interesting you will want to select something.

For inspiration go to an art publication or even a fashion magazine. You can select anything that takes your fancy. Below is a basic pattern which I've adopted to make my background .

Remember if you are interested in my classes I am available to give personal instruction in my Prahran studio. You can contact me on 0417 566 276.

BLOGART Lesson 3

As we get into the next lesson I want to show you a nude study by the 16th Century Baroque artist Carraci. Note the shading of the anatomical form on this delightful sketch. This is what we are aiming at.

We need to look carefully at our grided photo and plot the shadows which are formed by the interplay of light on the body.

Take it square by square and try to arrange the various tones into segments and "islands" of tones.

In the illustration below I have shown the basic tones as plotted. Plotting the underlying shadow construction is a way to resolve uncertainties about smaller details and make the final image look self-consistent.

The use of photographic reference is often criticized or discouraged for its tendency to produce "flat" images that fail to capture the dynamic aspects of the subject. Don't be disheartened as this method will produce a dynamic picture.

Drawing from imagination is often hailed for the expressiveness it encourages, and criticized for the inaccuracies introduced by the artist's lack of knowledge or limited memory in visualizing the human figure. Due to the darker areas of the photograph you will have to make some assumptions. This is where a little knowledge of understanding anatomy and the human proportions is important. In developing the photgraphic image, the artist should focus on the shapes created by the interplay of light and dark values on the surfaces of the body.

Here is a draft drawing that is made in preparation for a planned final image. Studies can be used to determine the appearances of specific parts of the completed image, or for experimenting with the best approach for accomplishing the end goal. However a well-crafted study can be a piece of art in its own right, and many hours of careful work can go into completing a study as in this illustration.

The bath by Edgar Degas is typical of a study which is a work in it's own right.

Remember if you are interested in my classes I am available to give personal instruction in my Prahran studio. You can contact me on 0417 566 276.

BLOGART Lesson 2.

Measuring with a "Grid" and blocking in the drawing is an important step in producing a realistic rendition of the subject. This is similar to comparing the relative sizes of different parts of the subject with each other as you would in a life drawing. When attempting to draw a complicated shape such as a human figure, some artists find it helpful at first to represent the form with a set of shapes, that is some combination of a cube, sphere or cylinder etc. Once these basic shapes have been assembled into a likeness, then the drawing can be refined into a more accurate and polished form. The art of figure drawing relies upon the artist understanding anatomy and the human proportions.

In developing the image, you should focus on the shapes created by the interplay of light and dark values on the surfaces of the body.This is the technique of varying the tonal values on the paper to represent the shadows and their placement on the figure.

Careful attention to reflected light, shadows, and highlights can result in a very realistic rendition of the image. (See this 17th Century Dutch drawing, similar to a Rembrandt, of a sitting woman.)

The figure I have drawn below shows how you can plot the shadows which are formed by the interplay of light on the body.

If you carefully examine the photo of your subject you will note the various light and dark values. Begin to plot them vary much like the contours of a geographical or survey map. Looking down on a body is a bit like looking from an aircraft at the land below. Mountains and valleys are obvious folds in the landscape especially when the sun is low and shadows are formed.

Remember if you are interested in my classes I am available to give personal instruction in my Prahran studio.

You can contact me on 0417 566 276.