Sculptor in Light

  NHK World video Legendary Creator Yoshitaka Amano Yoshitaka Amano   is a Japanese artist, character designer, illustrator and film scenic designer He first came into prominence in the late 1960s working at Tatsunoko Productions on anime adaptation of Speed Racer . As a graphic artist he is the creator of iconic and influential characters such as Gatchaman, Tekkaman: The Space Knight, Hutch the Honeybee and Casshan. In 1982 he became a freelance illustrator, finding success as an illustrator for numerous authors, and worked on best-selling novel series, such as The Guin Saga and Vampire Hunter D. He is also known for his commissioned illustrations for the popular video-game franchise Final Fantasy . Since the 1990s Amano has been creating and exhibiting paintings featuring his iconic retro pop icons in galleries around the world, primarily painting on aluminum box panels with acrylic and automotive paint. He is a 5-time winner of the Seiun Award, and also won the 1999 Bra...

  Testing Water soluble oil paint For those who share their studio area in the same floor with the living area, have a septic field independent of county facilities, or, who have over the years developed skin reactions for hazardous solvents, water soluble oils may provide perfect solution. Water soluble oil paint is oil paint that has been formulated to dissolve with water, without the aid of traditional oil solvents. For the purposes of this exercise I used Windsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colours, black and white, accompanied with Water mixable thinner and stand oil. I painted on a Masonite board which I gessoed, sanded, and wiped clean. I toned the board with a layer of yellow casein. The test subject is a photograph of a bust of Alfred Lord Tennyson by William Ordway Partridge. To begin, I mixed gray scale on my palette to get starting values correct, then I would blend the variation of light directly on the painting. Neither the thinner nor the stand oil w...

Alfred East (1844 -1913) Self Portrait by Sir Alfred East Sir Alfred East was an English landscape painter from Kettering in Northamptonshire. He studied at Glasgow School of Art, his work displays influences from the Barbizon school of painting, He traveled to Spain and Japan, the latter of which he spent 6 months in painting landscapes and people of the country. He had several exhibitions and presented regularly at the Royal academy where he was elected associate in 1899 then full member in 1913. In 1906 he was elected president of the Royal Society of British Artists, a position he held until his death. "Gold" by Sir Alfred East Also in the year 1906, he published “ The Art of Landscape Painting In Oil Colour”, in which he details many of his techniques for painting landscapes. In this particular case study, I applied his techniques in color for use in painting a series of skies. Top example is a study of the sky in setting sun, after East's painting entitled “Gold”. M...

 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was the most successful portrait painter of his time, gifted landscape painter, and watercolorist.    Sargent's teacher, Carolus Duran, had visited Spain in 1866 before establishing his atelier in Paris. He urged his students to study the works of Spanish painter, Diego Velasquez. In 1879 Sargent departed for Spain, where he studied and copied the work of Velasquez and other Spanish masters. He made seven trips of over the span of thirty three years. His fascination for Spanish art endured into old age. As Duran learned from Velasquez, Sargent also learned to define figures using long fluid brushstrokes, he admired Goya's elegant paintings of female subjects, and from El Greco, he referenced the posture of the his subjects.   Figure of Apollo from “The Forge of Vulcan” After Velasquez 1879 "Las Hilanderas" (The Spinners) after Velasquez, 1879 Angels in a Transept, after Goya, 1879 “The Holy Tritiny”, after EL Greco, 1895 Sou...

 Richard Schmid (October 5, 1934 – April 18, 2021) was an American artist and author, highly regarded and accomplished with more than 50 one person shows and the recipient of many major awards. Concerning dexterity in painting, he states the following in his book “Alla Prima” “The power is in how critically you observe your subjects, and the patience and care with which you paint it. Authority does not lie in how tricky you can throw the paint around. In any case, direct painting is usually done as an “Alla Prima” (one session) rendering, and there is rarely time to be cute about the way you apply paint. Use any application familiar and comfortable to you. Paint thick or thin, with a knife or brush, use a rag, a shovel, or your fingers, it doesn't matter- whatever gets the job done. Just make sure that thee five things happen: That the paint is going onto the right PLACE on the canvas. That your brushstrokes are the right SHAPE and SIZE. That they are the right COLORS....

 Harry Anderson was an American illustrator and member of the Illustrator's Hall of Fame. Harry worked for many American weekly publications, illustrated short stories, and Christian themes. “Conception, composition, values, colors, drawing and painting dexterity must all work together. And they are important in just that order. The younger artist is likely to forget one or the other. But the parts all become automatic, in time”. “The artist must get his values right, have the angle of light consistent, make sure the details are authentic in every respect, and get the proper expression on the faces of his figures.” “From his doodles Harry will make one or two sketches in casein to check out his composition and to make sure of color balance. He lays off the sketch in squares with black thread to facilitate reproduction. Then he starts drawing, in paint, directly onto his working canvas. He does not sketch in pencil or charcoal on his canvas.” Source: “Harry Anderson: The man behin...