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TIPS ON DRAWING PORTRAITS - No.2

3/11/2022

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by KAY JAMIESON
No. 2 Tips on Drawing Portraits  ​Having established some proportions in our portrait we can also think about adding tone, or shadows, ie. the range of light-to-dark areas which help to suggest three dimensions on the flat surface of the paper. It is helpful to make a black and white scale like this...
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​Shading can be done with a pencil or ball-point in a cross-hatching style or more evenly using a brush with watercolour, or charcoal. Try experimenting with different media.
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​Notice the direction of the light before shading the features which are in shadow. Note that cast shadows, those that are caused by an obstruction to the light, such as the nose, will have a harder edge than shadows which describe a rounded form like a cheek. Mark the areas of darkest tone (black) then gradually add the two or three mid-tones where necessary, adjusting as you go. If all the shadows are the same tone it will tend to ‘flatten’ the drawing. Remember, you are aiming to create the illusion of forms receding in space.
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Have fun practicing these techniques! I hope they help.
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PRINTS vs THE ORIGINAL

1/17/2022

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by ALAN KESTNER

Giclee Prints

​When the Booker Prize is announced and you want to read the book, you wouldn’t dream of writing to the author and asking for the original manuscript – you would be quite happy with a printed copy. But, for some reason, this is quite different in the world of art where the original is prized far above any copy. The Giclee method of making a copy of your painting involves photographing it very accurately and transferring this to a computer and then printing it out with a special large inkjet printer. Unlike your desktop printer this typically uses ten or twelve different light-proof inks and makes an extremely accurate copy of your artwork. It is printed onto high quality watercolour or art paper and if done properly looks indistinguishable from the original. Of course, not all art is suitable for copying and printing using the Giclee process, e.g. thick impasto surfaces. But many pictures do reproduce beautifully and, provided the printer adjusts the colour correctly, a suitable copy is produced. So why do so many people turn up their noses at this?
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The Birds
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Bunting

Is your appreciation aesthetic or commercial?

​The original work of art is clearly more valuable as, by definition, it has scarcity value. But should you be judging art by its commercial value? After all, you can sit down and relax listening to a beautiful piece of music on CD rather than going to a concert and it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. So why can’t you do something similar with a giclee print of whatever painting takes your fancy? It is possible to do this with prints from famous artists, but commercially they are often of rather poor quality with quite a distortion of colour. Hence, prints are viewed as something a student might put on their wall but not a suitable decoration for your adult home. Unfortunately, this then rolls through to less famous artists whose prints, even though of very high quality, are shunned in favour of originals. And this then means that their working practice becomes un-commercial. No-one wants their prints, so their price is pushed down and they cannot recoup the cost of their originals because of the long time and effort expended in producing them.

Limited edition prints

​One solution that is often tried is to produce a limited edition of the print. The buyer then thinks this is something special and exclusive and justifies a higher price. But isn’t this just pandering to snobbishness? The vast majority of people are not concerned about whether a book is a first edition or not, they just want to read and enjoy the story. So, as an artist whose paintings often take months to complete, my plea is – Buy the Giclee Prints!– these  copies of mine  are every bit as good as the originals and you can buy them very reasonably! If you would like to see them look for “prints” on my website at “ludwikart.com” or contact me via my “contact” page.
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Atomic World
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SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE

11/25/2021

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ALAN KESTNER  - Art Exhibition - Hamburg, Germany
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The Poolhaus, Blankenese, Hamburg, Germany from 13 to 26 November 202
Alan’s father, Fritz, and grandfather, Otto, escaped to Britain just before the second world war. Otto lost his German citizenship in 1942 because of his jewish ancestry. Alan managed to obtain German nationality in 2020 via Article 116 legislation, which restored citizenship to those who had lost it and their descendants. His father grew up in Hamburg, and to celebrate his restored connection with the city, Alan held an exhibition of his recent paintings and drawings there. These include a suite of new drawings with themes such as music, memory and the depiction of time. ​
Video of Poolhaus Exhibtion by Tanja Pfaff
Alan talks about his creative process

​
​English website:        ludwikart.com
German website:      alanketner.com
Instagram:                 instagram/ludwikart.com
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QUANTUM BEING - Its creation and use for meditation by Karen L French

6/27/2019

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STEP 1 - First a Brusho water colour background was created, a chaotic cloud of potential, of many vibrant colours in the void. Then I had the urge to create circles in random locations.

3 'major' circles resulted, each a container and also a point, placed a-round a central copper circle. This middle copper circle is the focal Point of the painting.  

Creating accurate circles with clearing defined edges is tricky. Any slight deviation or indent immediately shows. Straight edges are much easier! All the circles were made using 3 layers of lustre, applied with circular strokes, then polished and sealed.
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STEP 2 and 3 - More circles of copper lustre were added, moving freely about the energetic domain. They all lie outside of the space delineated by the Trinity.

Each of the 'major' circles in the Trinity were haloed by a geometric shape - red circle:green square (space), green circle:pink circle (time), rose pink circle:green octagon (Directions). These 'major' circles are bound by force fields (symbolised by the yellow lines) to create a sacred space.


3 is the number of creation, of Mind Body Soul, different states of Being (such as liquid, solid, gas). From the Centre of 3 a created Being emerges.

The central  copper circle, or sphere, has a crystal code within it that is the basis of the structure of the Being emerging out of the quantum field.  

​In Step 3, gold lines and patterns where then added around each of the shapes. Recognising the sacred nature of the creative process through the use of geometry and colours from light.
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Step 2
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Step 3
QUANTUM BEING - So much like the emergence of a form of being out of the Void, constructed out of geometry and light, so too did the geometric grid in the painting Quantum Being emerge out of the canvas.

Using it as a meditative tool for visualisation you can either focus of the centre and move outwards to see what form of being emerges, providing you with some insight for interpretation depending upon what is created. Or, you can choose your own body, or that of another object/animal/person/plant, and move inwards into their central code in the quantum field. At the end of your meditation move back to the point where you started. Reflect on the impressions you had as you move in and/or outwards, and also any insights you gained.

by LiterArties Karen L French
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Our FIRST Exhibition Opens - The Jam Factory

2/28/2019

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IT BEGINS!  After 7 months of planning and preparation the first LiterArties exhibition has started at The Jam Factory, Oxford, on Tuesday 26th February 2019.

The Jam Factory           27th February - 16th April

Installation

​Early in the morning all our art was laid out and the walls discussed. It was very clear that the largest wall would be dedicated landscapes in a free form style. A section was for abstract art and and another figurative.

Our Exhibition

Debrah and Karen left the hanging experts to it and this was the brilliant exhibition that showcases our artwork...

Private Viewing


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  • Home
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    • Karen L French
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