Bugaboo Sky

Here is a new Watercolor Sketch by my brother Bob Krysak

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Urban Sketching Workshop with Artist Don Colley

My sketch of Granville Island

with Faber Castell Gray brush Pens

Don with two workshop participants

On Tuesday April 19th I was lucky to attend an Urban Sketching Workshop at Granville Island with a fantastic Chicago artist Don Colley. Without question this was the best workshop that I have ever attended.

Don spent the first hour discussing tips, tricks, and methods and best practices with the subject of Urban Sketching. We were fortunate that he brought several of his sketchbooks with him so that we could view them up close, while flipping through the pages as he spoke to us. And I must say that photos just don't do justice to the images in his sketchbooks.

In the first hour he gave a great demonstration using Faber CastellFaber-Castell - Pitt Artist Pens Set Of 6 Brush Tips-Shades Of Grey

Terry Krysak is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Brush pens, and did a quick portrait study of one the folks in our group, talked at great length at how to use the pens with different values and how to apply them to various types of paper, including toned paper.

He is very energetic and enthusiastic when he is sharing his knowledge with everyone, and you just can't help but getting inspired to get out there and paint. He was also willing to share every bit of his knowledge with us and answer any and all questions that we had.

All and all it was a wonderful creative experience that I shall always remember and cherish. If you have a chance to attend a workshop with him by all means "go for it"!!!

Watercolor Demonstration by Bob Krysak

Vermillion Lakes Autumn-Canadian Rockies

9" x 12" on Stretched Canvas

$200.00

My brother Bob Krysak has been trying out painting watercolors on pre-stretched canvas panels sold at Opus Framing, and he documented the process in a recent post on his blog.

If you would like to purchase the original painting, you can contact him at bkrysak@gmail.com or visit Bob Krysak Watercolors.

I copied the information into a Word document, and then converted it to a PDF document using PDF Creator free software. After that I uploaded it into Scribd a free service, that allows you to embed the document into your blog post on any blogging platform.

So here is the demonstration as shown below.

Vermillion Lakes Watercolor Demonstration by Bob Krysak

N. C. Wyeth-American Artist and Illustrator

Illustration for the Book Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Image Source Wikimedia Commons-Public Domain

Sadly, Andrew Wyeth passed away today at age 91, and considering I already wrote a post about him in December 2008, I thought it would be a good idea to write something about his father, Newell Convers Wyeth.

I am including this in my series of My Favorite Artists. Although I was not familiar with his work until I did my research for the post on Andrew Wyeth. I think his work understandably had an influence on Andrew, and without doubt N. C. Wyeth had a great influence on American Illustration in general.

N. C. Wyeth 1882-1945, was born in Needham Massachusetts and was a pupil of renowned illustrator Howard Pyle, who was considered the father of American illustration. He was an accomplished watercolor painter by the age of 12, and attended Mechanics Art School to learn drafting, Massachusetts Normal Arts School, and later the Eric Pape School of Art to learn illustration.

His first commissioned work was a cover for The Saturday Evening Post, and after another commission for the same magazine, was urged in 1904 to go west by Howard Pyle to gain direct knowledge and experience of the subjects he was using for his illustrations. Over a period of two years, he travelled through the west taking on various jobs, and soaking up the environment of Cowboys and Indians in the wild wild west which added a dynamic, romantic flavor to his work.

Over his career Wyeth managed to complete over 3,000 paintings and illustrations, and did artworks for books such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Robin Hood, The Last of the Mohican's, and also did work for magazines such as Century, Harper's, Ladies Home Journal, and Scribner's.
As if that was not enough, he also did posters, calendars, and advertisements for Lucky Strike, Cream of Wheat, and Coca Cola.

By 1914, Wyeth became disenchanted with commercial art, and thereafter had an internal struggle, as he thought the work he was doing only served his publisher masters wishes, and their desires to satisfy the needs of the buying public, and the limitations of the printing processes of those times. However he did make a successful living at it, and managed to raise a family on his income form his illustration work.

After sifting through images of his work for a couple of hours, I am amazed at his use of color, and his strong sense of design and composition in his work. His illustrations give you the feeling of actually being there, even looking at them today. The way that he painted clouds impressed me perhaps the most. The shapes and the colors, the lights and the darks are in my mind just perfect.

View more images of N.C. Wyeth's illustrations.
Treasure Island-Online Book.

Bill Reid-Canadian Artistic Genius

Jade Canoe-Bronze Sculpture
by Bill Reid 1920-1998
photo (c) Terry Krysak

Bill Reid another of My Favorite Artists was a Canadian artist whose father was of European descent, and his mother was a First Nations Haida aboriginal. Reid was profoundly influenced by his paternal grandfather Charles Edenshaw, a renowned Haida artist carver.

Reid became interested in Haida art while he was a radio announcer in Toronto, and studying jewelry making. In 1951 he returned to Vancouver, and began studying the work of Edenshaw, as well as visiting the remains of Haida villages on the Queen Charlotte Islands, and ultimately was responsible for helping to put together a small replica of a Haida village located in the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

The Jade Canoe as shown above (located at Vancouver International Airport) is a representation of an ancient Haida dugout canoe, bearing thirteen supernatural creatures, each in some way related to the Haida's mythical past. For many centuries the Haida people lived in a rich fulfilled existence, nourished by the wealth of their homeland, and watched over by the gods and demigods who peopled their world.

Raven And The First Men
by Bill Reid
Cedar Sculpture

I have always been fascinated by the art of the Haida, and Bill Reid has succeeded in taking this art form to an entirely new level by taking classical Haida imagery, and transforming and morphing it into three dimensional sculptures that would be the envy of many famous sculptors. His use of cedar, and eventually bronze has proven to be an enormous achievement, and has left us with many fantastic works of art that grace our communities for all to see.

Visit the Bill Reid Foundation
Visit the Bill Reid Gallery

Dave Edwards-BlythArt

185-Bamburgh Castle-02 (Gouache)
Copyright Dave Edwards

This is another in my series of My Favorite Artists. Today's post is about Dave Edwards who lives in Blyth, United Kingdom. In this case it was hard to choose a favorite when looking at his work, as there are so many.

I first met Dave online, as we were both subscribing to the Art Newsletter Painters Keys, and Dave had asked for information about totem poles. I had a number of photos and resources on the subject, and emailed him. Over a short period of time as email buddies, we became friends, and we communicate via email a few times each week.

Dave is a self taught artist who works in watercolor, gouache, pencil crayon, pen and ink, an on occasion oil paints. He uses vibrant colors in his work often depicting scenes and places around the UK, in a mystical whimsical style that I like very much.

Dave's subject matter is diverse, and covers a broad range from still life, landscape, to birds and cats and more. If you visit his blog or website, you will find Dave to be very friendly, energetic, and engaging as he shares his artwork and thoughts with an audience on the edge of their seats waiting for more.

Image Bamburgh Castle used with permission of the artist.

Visit Dave's Blog
Visit Dave's Website on RedBubble

An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration from the Private Sketchbooks of Artists, Illustrators and Designers

Image Source: Amazon.com

Terry Krysak is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Danny Gregory's An Illustrated Life is a visual delight of color and texture--a funky and frenetic"book about books people have made," perfect for chronic doodlers, journalers, and art lovers.

Wow, what a great book for the artist in your family or of course yourself. One of the fundamental tools of any artist is the sketchbook, and successful artists around the world teach that carrying one with you at all times is a must.

Sketching when you are having your morning coffee at your favorite coffee shop, or while you are having lunch is the best way to hone your drawing and sketching skills.

If you want some insight how an artist approaches the challenges of the blank white page, this is an excellent resource that will help you get over that anxiety, and "get on with it"

The book shares excerpts from the notebooks of 50 artists, illustrators and designers with an introduction from each artist.

This book just made it to the Amazon "Best Books of December 2008" congratulations Danny.

Buy The Book Now

Portrait Of Allan Nott-Original Drawing Artwork

22" x 16"
Black Prismacolor Pencil Crayon on Illustration Board

In 1984 I was taking a break from working at jobs that I did not like, and decided to try and produce some art until my funds ran out. One night I was having drinks with my friend Allan, and he kept asking me when he was going to see some of my work. I didn't have much to show at the time, and he kept egging me on and pestering me, so I decided to try and do his portrait.

Little did I know what I was getting into. I came across an artist who was doing clown images in a art magazine using pencil crayons, and the images were very soft, and I was amazed at the visual impact of pencil crayons and had never used them before.

The drawing took me about 200 hours to complete over 3 months, and was the hardest thing I had done in my life. I used illustration board, which has a very smooth hard surface. I managed to use about 10 black pencil crayons to compete the piece. I don't think that I will spend that many hours on a work of art in the future, it was quite a marathon.

Cheers
Terry

I use Prismalcolor colored pencils.



Would you like to learn how to draw? Check out the best book I know of below.

Andrew Wyeth-An American Icon

I first discovered Andrew Wyeth at age 15 in my first year of High school, and his work has enthralled me ever since. He was one of the individuals that inspired me to become an artist, and to explore the medium of Watercolor. This is the first of my posts of My Favorite Artists.

Andrew Wyeth was born July 12, 1917 and is an American realist painter, and without doubt the best known American artist. Although he has won numerous awards and critical acclaim amongst critics, some have labelled his work more Illustration than Artistic. I can't agree with that opinion, as many famous artists were Illustrators or Commercial artists while advancing their artistic careers. As far as I am concerned, illustration is still art. Andrews father N.C. Wyeth was an Illustrator and artist, and how could anyone not be influenced by that?

Much of his work features the landscape around his home town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and the people that live in the area.

I just love the organic Burnt Umber feeling of his work, and every time I view it, I find myself lingering and exploring every detail in absolute wonder of how he did it.

He often uses a "dry brush" technique in his paintings. Most of the pigment is squeezed out of the brush, and then he caresses the paper with the lightest touch, building up successive layers of paint over time. I must admit I have failed miserably trying this technique, and have had no success with it.

Wyeth also uses the Egg Tempera medium for many of his paintings. Pigment is mixed with egg yolk and distilled water, and artists throughout the centuries used this medium with great success. One of Wyeth's most famous egg tempera paintings is Christina's World, done in 1948.

Book Image-Courtesy Amazon.com

Here are some links to view some of Andrew Wyeth's artwork.
Museum Syndicate
Official Andrew Wyeth Website

Books about Andrew Wyeth Book

Dave The Painting Guy-On Line Oil Painting Videos

Streaming live video by Ustream
I just discovered David Darrow last week when I was following Susan Carlin, another online oil painter.

David is an oil painter, painting portraits and other works online live on Ustream TV almost every day. He provides delightful conversation and banter, painting tips, and at times describes in detail the process of what he is doing at the time he is painting, providing information on the colors he is using, what colors he is mixing, and just about anything else that you would like to ask.

I am fascinated how he is able to paint, and talk to the folks who are all online viewing the painting process at the same time. He encourages viewers to ask questions, and provide comment on the screen sidebar as you can see in the screenshot below.
And of course the best thing is that you can view the live painting sessions, and his archive of previous videos all for free. When you visit via the Ustream TV link, you can be anonymous or sign up with Ustream for free, and choose your own user name so that members of the community can see who you are. There are a number of wonderful artists who tune in and enjoy the fun.

Although I have not painted in oils yet, watching David and Susan paint has made me want to give it a go, and I have learned an amazing amount about painting in the short period of time that I have been watching them.

Watch David paint online
Visit David's Website
Sign Up for email notification of when he is painting
Follow David on Twitter

I hope you will drop by and join the painting sessions, and connect with a great group of artists.