I wrote drawN as a digital drawing framework. It is not a replacement for Photoshop, nor is it a static tool. It is meant to be extended and customized by fellow tinkerers. The main application is written in Processing/Java with supporting GUI tools in HTML, JavaScript, and an SQL database. Features The N at the…
This is a stub of a post, to be fleshed out soon. Painting and drawing techniques, common in monotype, can be employed in intaglio prints through offset printing and lift ground technique. For more on the lift ground, see this post. Monotype offset Here we have energetic brushwork monoprinted from the slab, the ink from…
Printmaking is often about reversals – mirror images but also the light line that a scribe makes through a hard ground, eventually printing black. For many, myself included, this is a difficult bit of mental gymnastics. I sought a simpler way to get from drawing to print. While lift grounds may not exactly be simple,…
This glue is used in traditional chalk gesso as well as a sizing layer to control absorbency, provide adhesion, or to separate an organic substrate from acidic oil paint. Soak the powdered glue in water. Many textbooks and recipes will say overnight but I’ve found that modern granulated rabbitskin glue, with its small granules, needs…
Selection of colors is complex and subjective. I’ll offer here a broad and somewhat concise starting point. Here, I am talking about color selection and more specifically, raw dry pigments. Much of the advice here also relates to prepared tubed paint. I would perhaps add that the light fluffy powders of synthetic organic pigments (Quinacridone,…
I’ve pasted below, links that have been sent by email. Use the comments to add your own or, well, comment. From Vix:https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/prmx/hd_prmx.htm From Jennifer:https://www.clarkart.edu/microsites/posada -giant snail print http://www.lacaprojects.com/exhibitions/latin-american-masters-the-quest-of-printmaking https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/853857 From Holly:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_de_Jesús_de_Paredes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Montoya From Perry:https://www.drawcutinkpress.com/south-american-linocut-artists/ https://hickmandesign.co.uk/blog/history/printmaking-protest/ https://www.csuchico.edu/turner/social-commentary/political-prints.shtml
https://www.clipstudio.net/how-to-draw/archives/162629
What you see in the image above is a setup for calibrating a press with or without micrometer gauges. The usual procedure for calibration is to zero out the gauges by taking the roller to the bedplate and then setting the micrometer barrel & thimble to zero. The problem is that the roller isn’t just…
Some pigments may need some help in mulling a workable paint. A higher acid value oil such as Pale Grinder’s Oil is a good start, but if that still doesn’t do the job, a little stearate paste can be used. This is often used in commercial paint to gel the oil which prevents pigment settling,…
Building on the panel and underpainting in casein, continue the painting in egg tempera. The process for making the medium is described in the link below.
Many common materials you might use for panel construction come in 4×8 foot sheets. If you want to get many equally sized pieces, here’s a PDF you can bring with you to a place like Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Work in multiples.
There are many factors involved in the selection and manipulation of colors within a piece of art. Each piece has its own demands and an entire body of work, taken together, will illustrate the artist’s predilection for certain colors, combinations, and juxtapositions. Your first task is to research images from art history. Choose two images…
Mix dry ingredients. Quarter the butter lengthwise, and flour the pieces so they don’t stick together. Cut the butter into tiny pats and toss them into the flour. The butter can also be frozen and grated but I didn’t like the texture of the resulting biscuit. Add buttermilk and mix lightly. Turn this very wet…
1 1/2 cup corn meal*1 cup self rising flour1 teaspoon baking soda2 teaspoons baking powder3 or 4 eggs, depending on size1 stick butter, melted in skillet1 cup of buttermilk1/2 tsp kosher salt if your butter is unsalted Preheat oven 400 degreesMelt butter in skillet, then allow to cool a little.Whisk dry ingredients and wet ingredients…
Gum Arabic is a water soluble sap from the acacia tree. This is the binder for watercolor and gouache paints. We use it also in the fountain solution for polyester plate lithography. Here’s the recipe, thanks to Natural Pigments. 150 grams of gum arabic powder 500 ml distilled water heated to around 140°F a couple…
This is a simple medium to add to tube color in order to bulk up the volume of paint. It also makes the paint more transparent and lowers tinting strength. This can be useful when using colors like the pthalos. 1500 grams Precipitated Calcium Carbonate 400 grams Refined Linseed Oil The batch makes about 1…
Of course this isn’t art related but handy to have around the (outside of) the studio. 1 gallon of white vinegar2 cups of Epsom salt1/2 cup of dish detergent’ This can be put into a spray bottle or a fancy pump version made for the task can be found for around $10.
From the website, http://processing.org Processing is a flexible software sketchbook and a language for learning how to code within the context of the visual arts. Since 2001, Processing has promoted software literacy within the visual arts and visual literacy within technology. There are tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists who use…
32oz cold water 1/2 tsp citric acid crystals 1 tbsp gum arabic solution
200 mL Mop & Shine floor polish 100 mL Liquitex Pouring Medium 100 mL Golden Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic 50 mL Water
I use this etchant with aluminum but it is also effective for zinc and steel. When used with aluminum, there is no need for rosin because the metal will effectively aquatint itself. This etchant is based on electro-chemistry and is not corrosive in the sense of traditional etching acids like nitric or hydrochloric. Copper sulfate…
I’ll be adding more here but in the meantime, here’s a list of suppliers for dry pigments. There are thousands of pigments, some safe and suitable and others not. Please consult with me before placing an order. Your health, the longevity of your artwork, and keeping you from spending too much money – all these…
Prehistoric cave painters made pigment in much the same way, without the aid of a DeWalt cordless drill for stirring though. Construction sites often scrape off the topsoil, which is organic matter we’re not interested in, to reveal wonderful colors. You’re likely to see reds, oranges, and yellows – all forms of iron oxide, along…
You’ll need to prepare a rigid surface for painting with casein. Casein is a great underpainting medium for egg tempera and for oil. Below are some recipes you’ll need. In place of the gesso panel, you could also use paper mounted to a panel. The in-process images below show a painting made on watercolor paper…
Artists from the Golden Age of American Illustration.
https://thedotisblack.com/
http://www.complexification.net/gallery/ This is an old link so some things may not work because they’ll require Flash or Java. I’ve been able to download the code on many of these and get it to run so let me know if there’s something you’d like to play with and I’ll help you.
http://www.generative-gestaltung.de/2/
Generative art refers to art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an artwork that would otherwise require decisions made directly by the artist. Wikipedia Going back to…
Here are a few links. Clicking these will take you to a page with the link.
While other brushes are primarily used by loading the brush with paint, the fan’s best use is clean and dry, softening and blending. A common use is to lay down color areas with other brushes and then using a clean dry fan brush with virtually no pressure, soften those marks slightly. This gets the brushwork…
Egg yolk is a fine binder for pigment, having been used for centuries. The process is fairly simple Egg tempera and casein should be painted onto a rigid surface like a panel. You can prepare that panel traditionally with rabbitskin glue gesso, as described here. You could also mount paper to a panel to provide…
At the height of his fame, the Florentine painter and draughtsman Sandro Botticelli was one of the most esteemed artists in Italy. His graceful pictures of the Madonna and Child, his altarpieces and his life-size mythological paintings, such as ‘Venus and Mars’, were immensely popular in his lifetime.
Reginald Marsh was an American painter, renowned for his depictions of New York street life throughout the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression.
George Tooker was an American artist known for his Social Realist tempera paintings of mid-century New York. Many of Tooker’s works, such as The Subway (1950), focused on urban loneliness and disillusionment, in which figures seen trapped by their surroundings. ArtNet
Robert Vickrey was a crucial figure in the mid-twentieth-century renaissance of egg tempera, a demanding technique he explored over six decades.
“Michael Bergt has worked primarily in egg tempera for over thirty years. He co-founded The Society of Tempera Painters and served as the organization’s president for twelve years. Working primarily with the human figure, Michael’s paintings refer to a range of interests, including classical myths, sensuality, the human condition, and topical events. He is represented by Nuart Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century.