Tuesday, March 21, 2006
A window on today’s Africa
The current exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York, “Snap Judgments”, is, according to the New York Times, “fantastic, stimulating, astringent, brimming with life”. The exhibition’s curator, Okwul Enwezor, wants to counter the “Afro-pessimism” that most of us feel when we see images of Africa on the evening news.
The works in this show, many of them produced since 2000, often feature conceptual art, documentary, and fashion photography. Through these works, contemporary artists and photographers introduce us to a new way to look at the Africa of today, in all its many variations.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Welcome to FAS alumnus Max Stiebel!
Max Stiebel has had a productive and exciting career in art. He credits the inspiring example of the FAS Guiding Faculty and the personalized instruction he received as a student of FAS with giving him a solid base from which to evolve as an artist.
Visit Max’s web page to read his testimonial and see examples of his work. Welcome, Max!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Helpful Hints for the Artist #5
Advice on using acrylic paints
Acrylic paints (also called polymer or vinyl paints) have become vastly popular, and for good reason. You can mix them with water (or acrylic polymer medium), yet they’re completely waterproof when dry. You can apply them thinly, like watercolor, or you can build them up thickly, like oils, and you can use them in combination with other mediums. They dry quickly and the picture doesn’t have the tendency of oil paintings to crack, chip, or yellow.
Acrylics dry so rapidly that you can paint over a previous layer without disturbing it. You can produce many interesting hues and variations by applying thin transparent washes over your underpainting colors.
Commercially prepared acrylic board is available, but acrylics can be applied to almost any non-oily surface. A butcher’s tray makes a good palette.
You can work with watercolor or oil brushes and painting knives, but brushes need special care, since the medium dries so fast. If you set aside a brush for even a few minutes, suspend it in water. Wash brushes carefully when you finish. You can also obtain special nylon brushes with smooth hairs that resist the binding qualities of the paint and wash easily.
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