Artists Magazine - USA (2020-04)

90 Artists Magazine April 2020

HEARMEROAR

“Whenweareintheprocessoffindingourartistic

voice, we are almost constantly straddling the

planes of belonging and independence,” says

illustrator and writer Lisa Congdon. Her book Find

Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to

Working Your Creative Magic (Chronicle Books)

emphasizes the importance of not only finding that

voice but also letting it continue developing. The

path is uncharted and the journey can’t be rushed,

but Congdon’s insights and bright illustrations

lend light and encouragement along the way.

Independent

Study

Resources to

inspire + build skills

BY HOLLY DAVIS

BE STILL, MY ART!

“Still life lets you work out all

the concepts of a painting in

a controlled environment,”

says artist Todd M. Casey

in his book The Art of Still

Life: A Contemporary Guide

to Classical Techniques,

Composition, and Painting in

Oil (Monacelli Studio). His love

for the genre comes through

in his articulate overview and

instruction, lavishly illustrated

with his own work as well as

that of other artists of the past

and present.

ALL ABOUT ACRYLIC

Explore the potential of one of the most

versatile of media with Do More Art:

Acrylic (Lawrence King) by Rita Isaac.

A concise overview of materials, priming

and underpainting sets the groundwork for

more than 35 techniques, plus a section on

pouring methods. With images of paintings

from a variety of artists, the book offers

a smorgasbord of ideas to sample and enjoy.

Contemporary

Realism

The tradition of realism finds

ever new expression in the

works of today’s painters.

Many of them “disrupt”

realism by deviating from its

norms of line, form, color and

other elements. In Disrupted

Realism: Paintings for a

Distracted World (Schiffer

Publishing) artist, writer

and curator John Seed pairs

interviews with the art of 38

visionary artists who infuse

realism with subjectivity

in works that “reflect the

fragmentation of modern life.”

Our Own New Rituals by Paul Cristina

charcoal, acrylic, oil and paper on canvas, 49x89

COVER ART: Solace (detail) by Daniel Bilodeau

oil on paper on board, 8¾ x5¾