Issue No.11 July / August 2013 R35.00 incl VAT
Packed with tips & advice
WIN A PAINTING TRIP TO FRANCE worth over R50,000!
Stock your paintbox: product giveaways
Photography for artists
All about palette knives
Celebrity portrait series: Ashley Hayden
Step-by step demonstrations 1
contents
July / August 2013 GAVIN CALF
Page 8
A note from the studio
3
Feedback
4
News
5
Studio Basics: Palette Knives
6-7
Featured Artist: GAVIN CALF
DUNCAN STEWART
PETER WOOLDRIDGE
Page 16
Page 20
Page
8 - 11
Quick Art Quiz
12
Book Reviw
12
Featured Artist: DUNCAN STEWART
16 - 19
Featured Artist: PETER WOOLDRIDGE
20 - 21
Photography for Artists: lenses
22 - 23
Featured Artist: ANNA-CARIEN GOOSEN
24 - 27
We mustn’t forget them: TITTA FASCIOTTI
28 - 29
Featured Artist: EDWARD SELEMETSELA
30 - 33
DVD Review: Louis Audie Colour Mixing
34 - 35
Featured Artist: ROBERT BADENHORST
36 - 39
Let me tell you: Pesky things you don’t want to hear...
40 - 41
Featured Artist: DORIS BRAND
42 - 44
Competition winners
45
Cover Competition
46 - 49
WILLIE JACOBS: Celebrity Series - Ashley Hayden
50 - 55
Drawing Basics: Jeanette Gilks
56 - 57
Demonstration: MICHAEL PARSONS
58 - 61
Q&A
62 - 63
Teacher’s Noticeboard
64
Contributors
HARRY LOCK EDITOR Photographer, writer, sometimes painter & gallery owner. For the past 15 years he has been exhibiting & selling his work in galleries & arts festivals around SA.
LINDA HODNETT MANAGING EDITOR Attended The National School of the Arts in Jhb. Specialises in photography and graphic design and occasionally ‘dabbles’ with acrylics and oils.
JOHN SMITH ARTIST / WRITER John Smith comes from a family of artists and has been a professional painter since 1974. He loves writing and debating when he is not painting.
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WILLIE JACOBS ARTIST Willie has been a portrait artist full time for the past 10 years and is a member of the Portrait Society of America. He is an accomplished artist and teacher of portraiture.
On the cover: “Colliding Realities” 100 x 100 cm oil on canvas by Duncan Stewart. Read more about Duncan’s work on page 16.
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ANNA-CARIEN GOOSEN
Page 24
EDWARD SELEMETSELA
Page 30
ROBERT BADENHORST
Page 36
DORIS BRAND
Page 42
a note from the studio... Here we are, half way through the year and just two issues away from our second anniversary which we are celebrating in style with a fantastic cover competition and massive prizes up for grabs. We always try to bring you variety in the South African Artist, and this month is no different. We feature several artists who are evidence of the diversity in visual arts. From Duncan Stewart who finds expression for his thoughts on canvas, to Edward Selemetsela who devotes much of his time to teaching young artists. Anna-Carien Goosen tells how she began a painting career and family at the same time, and Michael Parsons demonstrates how he uses the palette knife. We also take a look at the life and times of one of South Africa’s master artists, Titta Fasciotti, while Jeanette Gilks offers some inspiring advice to help you improve your approach to drawing using some unique techniques and equipment.
Publisher Editor Managing Editor
Hodnett Advertising CC 2006/106776/2 Harry Lock (harry@thesaartist.co.za) Linda Hodnett (linda@thesaartist.co.za)
ART Layout & Design Photographers
Xtreme Design Harry Lock Linda Hodnett
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Editorial contribution
Harry Lock John Smith
Linda Hodnett Willie Jacobs
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FEEDBACK
WINNING LETTER I read with great interest the article by John Smith called Perennial Questions. Having not come from an art background myself and not having any formal qualifications in art, the question when to call oneself an artist without seeming presumptuous is a difficult one. I only recently came to terms with describing myself as an artist, however I still find myself writing ‘Teacher’ on immigration forms when it asks for occupation, in fact I did this yet again only yesterday! So what is that about? At the beginning of this year I decided to make a conscious effort to metamorphosis into a ‘real’ artist. I have been drawing and painting for years. I have attended numerous courses in various different media. I have exhibited in juried and non-juried exhibitions, sold works regularly, completed commissions, nervously given demo’s and finally taught an adult beginner class the basics of watercolour.
The writer of our winning letter will receive a sketching pack worth R250 from Herbert Evans Art Shop.
On the practical side I decided to build a simple studio instead of painting on my husband’s pool table, I printed business cards and designed a website. I also decided to keep a better more professional tab on the financial side of my business and invest in a better camera to improve the quality of my reference material.
The set contains a drawing pad, a pack of charcoal sticks, 12 watercolour pencils and a graphite drawing kit.
I am beginning to see myself as an artist, I may not be the best artist out there but hopefully other people will continue to appreciate my work and I will continue to enjoy what I do and never stop creating and travelling on my art journey.
Visit their website: www.herbertevans.co.za Write to: The South African Artist Magazine, Suite 10233; Private Bag X7005; Hillcrest KZN 3650 or e-mail us at: letters@thesaartist.co.za
Lois Sangari Kyalami
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NEWS BLACK LIKE US CELEBRATES 10 YEARS 4th August to 7th September This year the Black Like Us Group celebrate their 10th Venue: Manor Gallery, Norscot Community Centre, anniversary. Visitors are invited to come to a very special Penguin Drive, Fourways. opening of Black Like Us 10 on Sunday 4th August at 10h30 Gallery hours are: Tues-Fri: 10h00-16h00 for 11h00 to see the stunning artwork produced by this Sat: 10h00-14h00 Closed on Sundays talented group of artists. For enquiries: Kerry 011 465 7934 or email: gallery@wssa.org.za
IS COMING TO JOHANNESBURG! Skye Kennedy from The Italian Artshop in Cape Town will be heading to Johannesburg & Pretoria in October. She will be giving talks to various art groups/societies on the unique set of products offered by the Italian Artshop, as well as art related topics such as: • Should one varnish a painting & which varnish is best (at The Italian Artshop there are about 15 different varnishes and each one does something different) • Brushes: different hairs and bristles and what each one does, and how to look after them • Why is my painting cracking? • Lightfastness • All about painting mediums and siccatives • Primers and gesso’s • Papers, canvases, board and linen – what’s the difference and what should I be using? • All about acrylic gels and mediums
Book early, limited space available. 21 - 24 September 2013 @R3,600 per person sharing Rates include: Luxury accommodation, all meals and painting workshop with Graham Kearney. Learn how to draw what your eye sees; the importance of contrast between light and dark; the A-Z of pastels, oils, acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil; understand the products you are buying. For more information on Graham visit: http://grahamkearney.com
Talks can be tailored to suit the mediums used by each group. Any art groups / societies or associations interested in hosting a talk should please contact Skye: 021 6851877 or e-mail: skye@italianartshop.co.za www.italianartshop.co.za
For more info or to book: Tel: +27 (0) 34 413 3559 e-mail: res@pakamisa.co.za www.pakamisa.co.za
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STUDIO BASICS
palette knives If you can spread butter or jam onto a slice of bread, you can use a palette knife! Palette knives (or painting knives as they are also known) are excellent for producing textured, impasto work and sweeping areas of flat colour and can produce a very different result to that of a brush.
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Palette Knives are blunt with a very flexible steel blade and no sharpened cutting edge. They are primarily used for mixing paint, mediums and additives directly on the palette before applying them to a surface.
Pressing the edge of the knife down will produce fine lines. Pressing the blade flat down into the paint will produce ridges. Scrape back into the paint to reveal underlying layers (called sgraffito).
A palette knife with a large bend in the handle will keep your hand away from the painting surface and help to keep your knuckles out of the wet paint you've just applied. They come in many shapes such as pear, diamond or trowelshaped as well as long and short blades.
Drag your palette knife along the canvas to spread the paint as you desire. Use the flat surface of the palette knife for larger areas you wish to cover and the tip for smaller areas. Create layers and texture by using the flat surface of the knife and smoothing or pressing it into the canvas with your oil paints.
If you’re unsure whether you’re going to enjoy painting with a knife, first buy a cheap, plastic palette knife and experiment a bit with this before upgrading to a more expensive woodand-metal knife. The plastic one will always be handy for mixing paint and is much easier to clean than a brush.
Have a look at our step by step palette knife demonstration by Michael Parsons (page 58). He gives some great tips for achieving various effects. A palette knife can be used with just about any paint but is particularly effective with paint that’s got a relatively stiff consistency to it, that retains its form and the marks you’re making with the knife. If you’re using acrylics, you can add texture paste to thicken it up.
Hold the handle firmly so you’ve got a good grip, it doesn’t matter where exactly you arrange your fingers. Use your wrist to change the angle of the knife in relation to your canvas and remember that the knife can be used “upside down”.
Knife painting automatically keeps your colours pure because it is so easy to keep the knife clean. A quick wipe of the cloth does it and there are no solvents required.
Pick up some paint off your palette using the tip, as you’d pick up some butter with a knife. Use the side of the blade to spread paint across your canvas, or press it onto the canvas, as you would spread butter across a slice of bread. It’ll seem strange at first because it’s quite different to using a brush. Using just the tip of the blade will produce small dots.
Look for a palette knife that offers some flexibility in the blade and has a comfortable handle. With use your knife will become more flexible and easier to control.
WIN! Hillcrest Art Supplies are giving away a set of Prime Art metal palette knives. To enter send your name and postal address to: competitions@thesaartist.co.za or write to: The SA Artist magazine, Suite 10233, Private Bag X7005, Hillcrest 3650 KZN Closing date: 31 August 2013 The winner will be announced in the Nov/Dec issue. 8
FEATURED ARTIST
GAVIN CALF
Mood, atmosphere and emotion... Gavin Calf grew up in a home in Johannesburg surrounded by books and art. “I remember being fourteen years old, sitting in my stepfather’s library, doing penand-ink studies from a book of Rembrandt’s etchings. Paintings by Alexis Preller, Gordon Vorster, Francois Krige and Cecil Higgs, among others, decorated the walls of our home. So, for me, art was very much a part of my life from the beginning.”
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Weekends and holiday times were spent climbing mountains in the Magaliesberg range and the Drakensberg. This formative time spent in nature has had an enduring influence on his life as an artist. Gavin’s first formal art education came when his stepfather arranged for private art classes with Cecil Skotnes in 1965. Then, after finishing school Gavin studied at the Johannesburg College of Art and was employed as a graphic artist. His fascination with the human form led him to study under Ryno Swart at the Ruth Prowse Art School where he completed several courses in figure painting and drawing during the 1980’s. He has been a full-time artist for fifteen years. As a contemporary figurative artist and social impressionist his works mostly centre around the human form: “I enjoy the variety, and sameness, of the human body, in particular the female nude.” Gavin has earned a reputation for being able to express mood, atmosphere and emotion with his considered use of light, shadow and gesture. “Figurative works are timeless and therefore, classic more than ‘contemporary’. A succesfully finished nude painting comes a lot by grace as well as by hard determination”. He isn’t averse to destroying a canvas and starting over again. “My current Muse has granted me my best painting experience in years. “M”, who is a Michaelis graduate, gives generously to the art process which is a private conversation between us. This intimacy translates itself to the art collector who then enjoys his or her own unique interpretation of the work. My art is personal.” Gavin believes that drawing is at the heart of being able to express oneself in painting. This is evident in his economical use of line and his ability to communicate shape and detail with the minimum of brush strokes. “My great influence at the moment is Bernard Dunstan RA, a master of understatement.” Following the tried and tested techniques developed by the masters he sketches and draws a great deal before committing anything to the canvas. “There is nothing new in the way I work. I paint from thin to fat, dark to light, constantly “seeing” my subject through half closed eyes.”
Top: The Young Singer 470 x 330 mm Oil and Pitt charcoal on white primed hardboard Opposite: The Podium 850 x 900 mm - oil on canvas
Bottom: The Baker 760 x 610 mm oil on canvas
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This page top and bottom: Bollard Beach, Knysna 500 x 600 mm - oil on canvas
Opposite top and middle: Jade 870 x 675 mm - oil on canvas
Opposite bottom left and right: Antique Silk 760 x 610 mm - oil on canvas
A new season 700 x 850 mm - oil on canvas
The Secretary 760 x 610 mm - oil on canvas
Sibo 510 x 400 mm - oil on canvas
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He believes painting is a process of dividing light from dark. Edgar Degas said, “You paint the darks, midtones and lights. Then you add a highlight and it’s done.” Calf was one of the founding members of the Artists’ Co-operative, a life drawing and painting group which has been based in Observatory since 1989. “Being part of this group has been great. As an artist it is important to align yourself with people who affirm you but don’t shy from those who honestly appraise your work in a critical way. Artists grow more out of constructive criticism than bland praises.” His works are in several prestigious collections and he was an invited exhibitor at the 7th Florence Biennale in 2009. More recently he participated in the Cherie De Villiers 20th Anniversary Exhibition, which was held in June this year. Three significant works sold at the opening. Despite all of his experience, Gavin still finds dealing with galleries challenging. “Establishing a business understanding in writing helps one avoid potential trouble, especially in difficult financial times. Galleries sometimes resist signing agreements but the benefits are mutual.” When not in the studio he enjoys cooking, Tai Chi and is kept fit by his two Border Collies who demand exercise twice a day. My favourite quote for now is one by Michelangelo: ‘Draw Antonio. Draw and stop wasting time!’
CONTACT GAVIN: e-mail: gavcalf@iafrica.com www.gavincalf.co.za
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