Saturday 24 November 2012

Creating and Mounting Pastel Supports

Two new sections have been added into my 'resources for artists' website dedicated to sharing information about Pastel Paper and Pastel Boards.


In addition to:
it now also includes
I've included links to all the information that I could find online

However, if you know of any article or online website which provides information which would be useful to share with pastel artists please leave a comment below.



Sunday 18 November 2012

NEW Drawing Books in 2013

2013: NEW Books About Drawing is my new website which will track:

  • new drawing books in 2013
  • revised editions of some well regarded existing publications
  • new editions of some historical books about drawing.

Listings are on a month by month basis - as books are listed for publication (however note that its' not unusual for some of these dates to slip a month or two).

The books listed include:
  • art instruction books about drawing and sketching - designed specifically for artists working in drawing media and those keeping sketchbooks / journals.
  • academic books about drawing
  • catalogues for exhibitions about drawings
I don't include every book published and to be frank my aim is to try and identify quality publications rather than more "same as same as" books and those which I regard as dumbed down.

Perspective and Urban Drawing and Sketching

To be published by Wiley
in February 2012
For those who have difficulty drawing buildings and tackling urban sketching there's some books being published by Wiley early in the New Year which might provide help.  In February, Wiley is publishing:
Although their target audience is students and practising designers, architects, planners, and landscape architects, I'm sure there's bound to be content of interest for anybody who is serious about drawing buildings or anything involving perspective.  They've not got to the "see inside" stage as yet - but could be worth a bookmark for those who have an interest in these areas.

Art History

There are also a number of excellent books coming up about drawings by master draftsmen and famous painters.  Examples include:

To be published by D Giles Ltd
in January 2013
January 2013
February 2013
  • Raphael: Drawings - based on the remarkable collection of Raphael's works in the collection of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt.
March 2013
June 2013
  • Hopper Drawing (Whitney Museum of American Art) - this is an exploration of renowned painter Edward Hopper’s detailed compositional studies and figure drawings.  It also appears to be connected to exhibitions although I can't yet confirm this from the museum websites.  Here are the 'maybe' dates of the exhibition
    • Whitney Museum of American Art (05/23/13–10/06/13) 
    • Dallas Museum of Art (11/17/13–02/16/14)
    • Walker Art Center (03/15/14-06/22/14)
To be published by YaleBooks
in June 2013
This is what Yale Books (the publisher) have to say about the book
In 1967, Hopper's widow, Josephine Nivison Hopper, bequeathed her husband's artistic estate to the Whitney Museum of American Art, including a fascinating collection of more than 2,000 drawings spanning his entire career. This group of works has never been the subject of in-depth study and many have never been reproduced before. Hopper kept these drawings for personal reference as he revisited various themes throughout his career. Carter E. Foster carefully examines how Hopper used his drawings to develop his paintings, arguing that the artist's work can only be fully understood after in-depth study of these preparatory sketches. Foster also argues that Hopper was, in many ways, a traditional draftsman who methodically developed schematic ideas into detailed studies to refine content.
YaleBooksHopper Drawing by Carter E. Foster 
Commentary on Drawing

There's to be a revised second edition of the well regarded Vitamin D book - although I have to say Vitamin D2 doesn't have quite the same ring! 

Vitamin D2: New Perspectives in Drawing will be published in May 2013 by Phaidon and will feature contemporary drawing by 115 artists from around the world.

More drawing instruction and Andrew Loomis

The publishers of the venerable art instructor have not finished - we have one more. Fun With A Pencil by: Andrew Loomis was first published in 1939 and is going to be republished in April 2013 by Titan Books.

More Books about Drawing

Below you can find my other websites relating to books about drawing

The Best Books about Drawing and Sketching
Do you want to learn how to draw? Not sure which book to buy? Want to find out which are the best books about drawing and sketching? SCROLL DOWN to find lin...
2012: NEW Books About Drawing
This site lists BRAND NEW books about drawing and sketching due to be published in 2012 on a month by month basis and highlights major new books which I reco...
2011: NEW Books About Drawing
Find out about new books about drawing and sketching published in 2011 - in hardback, paperback and ebook editions. Listings on a month by month basis but ar...

Saturday 10 November 2012

Studio Product: IKEA Råskog Kitchen Trolley

IKEA is proving to be a very useful place for providing equipment suitable for artists' needs.  My latest find is a Trolley called the Råskog Kitchen Trolley

One of the challenges of drawing with coloured pencils is getting my kit organised.  First I got my pencils into white painting tubs.  Then I got an IKEA Lazy Susan so that I can access them easily - however it would be nice to have all my other drawing equipment as easily accessible and in one place.  I've been thinking of getting a trolley - and spotted this one in the new IKEA catalogue.

IKEA Råskog Trolley

Specification

Materials: It's made of steel with an epoxy power coating.  These are the assembly instructions

Dimensions: The dimensions when assembled are
  • Width: 35 cm (13.8 inches)
  • Depth: 45 cm (17.7 inches)
  • Height: 78 cm (30.7 inches) - that's the equivalent of desk height
Price: It's priced in the UK at £50 - in the USA it's $49.99.  I'm guessing VAT accounts for the rather wonky currency conversion.

Looking at it online, here are the pros and cons from my perspective

Pros
  • I love the turquoise colour! (who needs grey?)
  • the shelves have edges meaning that "stuff" does not fall off and everything is held securely within the space
  • ease of access to shelving - no need to pull out a shelf
  • tubs of pencils can be swopped around between the shelves depending on what is in use
  • the castors mean it can be moved easily
  • the website indicates that the middle shelf is adjustable - however I think they mean it's optional
  • Steel means it's robust and can be cleaned easily (helpful for those wanting to use it for paint)
  • its dimensions means it doesn't swamp the area when you have it out and it can fit in small spaces when you want to put it away
Cons
  • the castors also mean it can move inadvertently - there's no obvious locking device to keep it one place
  • the base of the shelves is meshed steel which I'm feeling a little ambivalent about.  Good for veggies and ideal for losing small items? (Probably need to use cartons within the shelves for small items/ things which roll)
I'd be interested to hear from anybody who has bought one and/or anything similar which they'd like to recommend.

More about IKEA for the studio

Previous IKEA items - reviewed on this blog - relate to:

Wednesday 7 November 2012

The Big Watercolour Debate - Tubes versus Pans

I've added a new section into Which is the best brand of watercolour paint for artists? - my new "resources for artists" website.

Watercolour paints - tubes and pans. 
Brands represented here include
Winsor & Newton, Rembrandt Van Gogh, Schmincke, Maimeri and LeFranc & Bourgeois

The new section Watercolour Paint: Pans versus Tubes (click to review) examines the Pans versus Tubes debate - and I've rounded up all the references I can find.  Here's three of those links examining the pros and cons of tubes versus pans by people who I rate highly - (1) Bruce McEvoy of Handprint and (2) Roz Stendhal of Roz Wound Up
If you have a preference one way or the other - or maybe like both - please vote in the Poll also on the blog - see POLL: Watercolour paints - Pans versus tubes?

If you've written online about your preferences for pans versus tubes or have reviewed the different options please let me know and I'll add a link to your blog to the new website.


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