Category: Tools / Technique / Drawing / Painting

Atelier Saint-Luc and Blackwing pencils

6/3/2024

“I’ve been hanging out with Ian Roberts and his posse over at ‘Atelier Saint-Luc’ recently and we’ve been compositioning and drawing and critiquing and having a great time!
No mater what your medium or genre is, drawing and composition are essential skills to develop, even if its just for thumb-nails and working out ideas or organizing your thoughts in a visual language.” -RQ

Video: Why This Cult ‘$40 Pencil’ Almost Went Extinct

With wax in its core, the Blackwing pencil was said to write faster than its competitors on the market, quickly earning a coveted status among creatives. Disney animators, artists and writers like Steven Sondheim and John Steinbeck added to its reputation. So why did these pencils reselling for anywhere from $40 to $200 almost go extinct?
Watch the Video!

0:00 The story of the Blackwing
1:28 Supply chain
4:12 Why the pencil disappeared
6:14 What’s next for the pencil?
Video from the Wall Street Journal.Style

Thanx to: Deanna Parisi

Here are a few of the drawings I did
with Ian last month!” -RQ

Thanks to Ian Roberts… What a Guy!

https://www.ianroberts.com/
https://www.ianroberts.com/contact/

While your there…scroll down and
Discover his great Youtube videos!

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Tool-Hack / Trompe L’Oeil Brick

12/4/2023

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Here’s a cool Painting-Hack-Tool
and what I did with it!

I was out cleaning and re-organizing my Studio-On-Wheels the other day, and I came across this great tool I made for a trompe l’oeil project a few years back, buried under my yard-sticks, metal rulers and spirit levels, beneath my wooden planks, next to my light stands and tripods.

I needed to paint a four-story high facade of ‘bricks’ on the stucco surface of an elevator tower, to match the existing facade of a Gothic-style building.

So I cannibalized a plastic handle from somewhere and duct-taped it onto a long plastic spirit-level that had a ruler on it and “Voe-Wall-ahh!!” I had the perfect tool for the job! Light-weight, easy to handle, and easy to adjust on the wall, and versatile as wHell!!

So I took a load of pictures of the existing architecture…

…and re-created architectural elements for the newly finished (stuccoed) elevator tower on the new building.

In order to enhance the illusion of height of the tower I wanted to make the ‘bricks’ get smaller and smaller as they went higher and higher. But I didn’t want to take the time, nor was I enthusiastic about measuring-out all those brick-rows or snapping all those lines to keep them all parallel and straight!

Since I was working off of a awing-stage, secured from the top of the building, I needed to work my way down adjusting the height of each row of ‘bricks’ as I moved down the building and I needed each layer to be parallel with the last, as I made my way to the bottom of the tower.

I had already ‘pounced' the cartoon patterns I made in the studio...

…and I painted the architectural elements and the textured color-fields of the aged-facade.

All I had left to do was to paint the mortar between the ‘bricks’ and their shadows and high-lights, and the faded darks and lights of the old brick-pattern as I made my final pass down
the wall.

Here’s a link to a slideshow of the ‘Making-of’ the project.

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Funny Signs / Woodland Manufacturing

10/9/2023

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“This is a good follow-up to the ’Sign Painters’ book by
Faythe Levine and Sam Macon. I am all about custom, hand painted 2D work, but if your looking for 3D signs,
these are the go-to folks!
They do good work and have a great sense of humor.” -RQ

1-800-705-4020
Hours: M-F
7:00am - 5:00pm MDT

Mailing Address:
Woodland Manufacturing,
2835 E. Lanark St. STE 100,
Meridian, ID 83642
https://www.woodlandmanufacturing.com/

"Everyone needs signs.
We streamlined custom sign-making so people can focus on what they do best and look good doing it.
We offer friendly customer service with design skills, experienced artisans in our shop, and attention to detail to help get your custom sign made."

Here are a few posts from their
Funny Sign Friday Collection!

“Every Friday, we like to find a funny sign to post on
Facebook and Instagram.
We wanted to keep a collection of funny signs on our website for our employees and customers to enjoy
any day of the week.
We made this page for our Funny Sign Friday features.
Stay tuned as we add more funny signs every month.
Tell us about the funny signs in your area by posting a pic online with the hashtag #funnysignfriday”

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"Sign Painters" by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon

10/2/2023

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“Here’s another one of my favorite books from my Library... ”

"Sign Painters"
by
Faythe Levine and Sam Macon

At a time when most American cityscapes are dominated by computer created mass-produced signage,”Sign Painters” takes a close look at the past, present, and hopeful future of the hand painted sign industry in the USA.

There was a time - as recently as the 1980s ( “When I began painting... ” -RQ ) when storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards, and even street signs were all hand-lettered with brush and paint.

But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper.
The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into our visual landscape.

Fortunately, there is a growing trend to seek out traditional sign painters and a renaissance in the trade.

In 2010 filmmakers Faythe Levine, co-author of Handmade Nation, and Sam Macon began documenting these dedicated practitioners, their time-honored methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship.

‘Sign Painters’, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features stories and photographs of more than two dozen sign painters working in cities throughout the United States.

Reviews:
"Every now and again, a book comes my way on a topic that is utterly and completely unexpected. Faythe Levine and Sam Macon's Sign Painters is the sort of artistic celebration that should be commonplace on the shelves.this is graphic design at its best; these signs command attention, enliven the landscape, and bring customers in... good stuff, and damned inspiring." -- Bookslut

"This is not only a wonderful book, a delight to take in, rich and telling in its details and a visual pleasure with its gorgeous photography. It's an important book that captures a largely untold story." -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Full of stunning full-color shots of finished signs and works-in-progress of folks from San Francisco and Iowa City to Mazeppa and Boston. Even artist Ed Ruscha gets in on the action." -- Fast Company

"With hand-painted signs rapidly going the way of the film camera, documentarians Levine and Macon offer a welcome look at some of the remaining artists and their work, which adorns storefronts, walls and billboards. New Yorker Stephen Powers began as a graffiti artist; Las Vegas painters Mark and Rosie Oatis met in sign school; Ernie Gosnell, in Seattle, learned the trade as a teen from a sign-painting lady wrestler who "tattooed a little bit on the side." It's a toss-up as to what's better - these characters or their art." -- New York Post

"Artist Clark Byers may not be a household name, but if you've lived or traveled in the southeast U.S., you're probably familiar with his work. Byers, whose death in 2004 was commemorated with an obituary in the New York Times, painted the advertising slogan, "See Rock City," on the roofs of more than 900 barns from the late 1930s until the 1960s. Byers' and other artists' signs inspired filmmakers Sam Macon and Faythe Levine's great new book, Sign Painters, an homage to the craft and its craftsmen (and a great gift for the Americana-lover on your holiday shopping list)." -- Reader's Digest

"As lovingly hand made as the signs it celebrates... What comes across clearly is the respect for good work, letter by letter, that helps their clients' businesses succeed. This book captures the renaissance of the sign painter." --- Juxtapoz

"Sign Painters is a great source of inspiration about this often-overlooked industry, and a good reminder to pay a little extra attention while out in the city, on the highway, or wherever. Beautiful hand-painted signs are everywhere." -- Smithsonian.com

"A lovely paean to a vanishing art... Ms. Levine and Mr. Macon have hopscotched the country, interviewing many of the best remaining old-school sign painters and printing their best work... This book, with an introduction by the artist Ed Ruscha, is a funky and necessary work of preservation." -- New York Times

Other Links:

Faythe Levine
My creative practice is not tied down to one medium; it is based on whatever I am passionate about. Over time this has allowed me to accumulate a large, diverse portfolio of work centered on themes of community, DIY, creativity, awareness, process, empowerment and documentation. I aspire to communicate honesty, authenticity and the quality of life through my work. My books and projects aim to be approachable and accessible and my work is exhibited and published in both formal and renegade outlets internationally.

Sam Macon
Sam Macon is a Milwaukee-born, Chicago-based filmmaker, photographer, and writer. He received his BFA in film from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and directs music videos, commercials, short films, and documentaries.
http://sam-macon.squarespace.com/

[email protected]
http://sam-macon.squarespace.com/

"Here is where I first heard of the book and documentary...
James Gurney's FANTASTIC art blog!" -RQ

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2013
Documentary on sign painters

Roberto said... Thanks for posting this James!
I didn’t start painting seriously until 1980. I tried drafting and calligraphy, but my poor eye-site and large-temperament made it difficult to work on such a small scale. Once I discovered outdoor signs, billboards, and wall-murals I was hooked. It’s a thrill and a challenge to work on a really large scale project, hanging on a tall wall, high above the world, slingin’ paint around with big brushes and painting with your whole body involved.
Early on I hooked up with a Pub-and-Bar developer, traveling around the Western States doing artwork, signs, menus, and carnival/circus style painting with a troop of local artists and sign-painters. What a great way to learn a craft! Collaborating and learning from a wide range of talented artisans.
Being able to knock-out a sign project has also really helped during the lean times of ‘Art’ making.
Your post on Monday, March 4, 2013: Documentary about Ornamental Glass Art was likewise inspirational. This is a great example of how a ‘decorative craft’ can be elevated to the level of ‘Fine-Art’.
Thanx for the trip down memory lane.
Keep up the good work. -RQ
March 10, 2013 at 3:56 PM

Since you have made it this far, you might as well check out sme of the signs I have up on my web site:

"Computers and vinyl technologies have completely transformed the sign painting industry.
I have always specialized in custom, hand-painted,
one-of-a-kind projects, so advanced technologies
are not a threat, but rather an opportunity
to apply my craftin new and exciting ways –
and in doing so to better meet my clients' needs."
-Roberto Quintana

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Faux Finishes, Part 4b: Soft Surfaces

7/3/2023

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"I'm back from my trip to Baltimore, and it looks like I got out of Dodge just in time! It's a beautiful city with lots of great murals and art museums and historical architecture. Stay positive, curb your guns and be kind to others.
Here is part 4b of my Faux Finishes Blog posts. scroll back through the blog for earlier posts on Faux Finishes (and much more) or search the Blog by category" -RQ

Here is another one of my favorite books from my library...

Soft Surfaces
Visual Research for Artists,
Architects, and Designers
by Judy A. Juracek

Modeled on the successful Surfaces (1996) book, this stunning collection of photographs catalogs how hundreds of varieties of textiles, grouped by structure and surface treatment, look up close and in interior and exterior applications such as window treatments, upholstery, awnings, tents, and floor coverings.
The book is tailored to research needs in scope and focus, offering examples for architects, interior designers, textile professionals, theatrical and film designers, illustrators, and graphic designers.
Interviews with professionals describe how they use visual research in their work.

1,200 high-quality color images
of traditional and innovative textiles,
in print and on CD-ROM

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"Mastering Layout: on the art of eye appeal" by Mike Stevens.

5/1/2023

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Here’s another one of my favorite books from my library…

"Computers and vinyl technologies have completely transformed the sign painting industry and as a consequence hand lettering and sign painting has become a lost art.
Early in my career I found it very useful to be as versatile as possible and to learn as many painting techniques as I could, to help get me through the lean-times. These skills have come in quite handy in many of my commercial and fine-art projects from billboards, signs and menu-boards to set-painting, super-graphics, logos and mascots.
I have always specialized in custom, hand-painted one-of-a-kind projects, so advanced printing and computerized technologies are not a threat… but rather an opportunity to apply my craft in new and exciting ways – and in doing so
to better serve a diverse clientele.

Mike Stevens’ ‘Mastering Layout' was a vital resource in building my skills with a brush and improving my layouts and designs." -Roberto Quintana

Mastering Layout
On the Art of Eye Appeal
by Mike Stevens

This best-selling book by sign industry legend, Mike Stevens, covers the fundamental principles of layout for signs. It teaches how to see, organize and manipulate graphic elements for unified, legible and visually appealing results. More than 80 illustrations demonstrate before-and-after results of applying the principles. Includes a troubleshooting checklist for isolating, analyzing and correcting layout weaknesses in your own designs.

Long established as a must-have for all sign writers,
this best-selling book covers the fundamental
principles of layout for signs.
Includes 13 handwritten alphabets for reference

and 80+ illustrations with before and after results,
and all the universal rules in font layout.
This technical book is just as appreciated by old hands
in lettering as it is by newcomers.
A real classic.

Mike Stevens provides a detailed, comprehensive
and relatively easy-to-understand overview of
the analytical skills that can be applied to a
Sign Painting or Writer's job.
The fundamental principles in the layout of fonts and characters are conveyed in detail and how several graphic elements are organized into a perfect overall picture.
invaluable sign painting knowledge on 127 pages.

Contents

1) Natural Layout
2) Format: A Design Element
3) Copy Interpretation & appropriate Images
4) Negative Space
5) Line Value
6) Rhythm
7) Selecting Alphabets
8) Color
9) Super Graphics
10) Informal Layout
11) Troubleshooting Your Layout

Michael R. Stevens
Died: April 20, 1989

From Signcraft magazine.
July/August 1989

Few sign artists in recent times have had as much influence on sign layout as sign artist/author Mike Stevens.
Mike Stevens died suddenly on April 20, 1989.
Mike was the author of
Mastering Layout: The Art of Eye Appeal
and
Ninety-Nine Showcards: A Photo Album,
and produced two audiotapes and a video tape.
He recently contributed a series of articles on layout to SignCraft.
Since his death, SignCraft has heard from scores of sign artists — some long-time friends and others
who knew Mike only through his books, tapes and articles.
All mentioned his impact on their work, their business,
and in many cases, their lives.

Related:

Signs, Totems & Super-Graphics
http://www.artandsoulproductions.com/signs-totems--super-graphics.html

SignCraft
http://web.archive.org/web/20230323231908/https://www.signcraft.com/

About Us
In 1980, we published the first issue of SignCraft Magazine from our commercial sign shop, laying out the pages on the same drawing table we used for sign sketches and proposals. Our plan was to create a way to share ideas and information that would make signmaking easier, more creative and more profitable. Computers were not yet involved in sign making, so the focus was on hand painted, sandblasted, carved and cutout signs and lettering.
In the years that followed computers changed the sign industry (along with the rest of the world!) Our coverage gradually expanded to include cut vinyl, digital prints and CNC routed signage.
Nonetheless, SignCraft’s intention has remained the same: To give those who make signs the information, ideas and inspiration that helps make their signs more effective, their work easier and their business more profitable.
The November/December 2020 issue marked the final print edition of SignCraft Magazine after 235 consecutive issues—more than 5000 articles and over 20,000 idea-packed photos. Our articles are now delivered online to our members.
Join today:
You’ll get ideas and information you can’t find anywhere else. Over the past year, SignCraft readers received over 100 articles, over 150 time-saving tips and shortcuts and nearly 1000 inspiring photos.
You’ll be in touch with shop owners who understand the work you do. You’ll visit their shops and watch videos of techniques and time-saving shortcuts.
You’ll can use the online Sign Pricing Guide pricing calculator–where you can price everyday sign work in just three clicks, with pricing based on the overhead level that fits your shop.
You’ll have full access to SignQuote Pro app, a web app that lets you price even more types of signs with even more flexibility of substrates and shop rates
Join today and find out why thousands of sign professionals around the world depend on SignCraft to make their signs and their businesses more successful!
Call: 800-204-0204 | 239-939-4644 | Fax: 239-939-0607
E-mail: [email protected]
US Mail: SignCraft, PO Box 60031, Fort Myers, FL 33906.

http://web.archive.org/web/20220120180400/https://www.signcraft.com/about-us/

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Faux Finishes, Part 4: Surfaces!

3/20/2023

0 Comments

Here is another one of my favorite books in my library...

SURFACES
Visual Research for Artists,
Architects, and Designers
by Judy A. Juracek

Looking for images of architectural materials?
'Surfaces' offers over 1,200 outstanding and vibrantly colorful visual images of surface textures--wood, stone, marble, brick, plaster, stucco, aggregates, metal, tile, and glass--ready to be used in your designs, presentations, or comps, as backgrounds or for general visual information.

( ...but not to just flat-out copy, without permission or credit, for your Multi-Million-Dollar Video-Game backgrounds!)

Photographed by a designer for designers, the pictures show specific materials and how they change with time, weather, wear, and different lighting. Each section offers general views of the material, a gallery of commonly used or manufactured samples, and hundreds of specimens showing types and finishes in architectural settings. Captions provide information about the physical properties, dimensions, construction techniques, specific varieties of the material, and types and styles of treatments.

Interviews with eight design professionals provide practical advice on how they approach visual research, and a comprehensive glossary of visual and technical terms offers a vocabulary for professional communication. An index of subject matter and materials makes it easy to find just the image you need.

1000 color illustrations

PLUS: this book comes with a great CD-ROM
of screen resolution TIFF files
of every image in the book!

...And here's a Free PDF!

Related:

Capcom accused of infringing artist's copyright in Resident Evil games. June 2021

Capcom “resolves” lawsuit surrounding allegedly stolen ‘Resident Evil 4’ images
By Andy Brown February 2022

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Fun with Paint!: BRADLEY HART / Bubble Wrap Artist

2/28/2023

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Here’s a cool YouTube video my friend Lois sent to me…

Artist Transforms Bubble Wrap
Into An Impressionist Painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeFzpshBwwk

Using syringes, artist Bradley Hart injects Bubble Wrap with acrylic paint to create pixelated works of art.
Bradley transforms this everyday material into beautiful, meticulously crafted paintings.

The bare bubbles in the bubble wrap reference dots or pixels, echoing various movements in art history and other media, including pointillism, screen-printing, TVs and LCD monitors. The process of injecting paint into bubble wrap directly references pixilation.

“At every level of my studio practice I recycle as a function of the work. I recycle the syringes; the dried paint in the mixing jar and collect the drips of paint on the bubble wrap and the drop sheet.” -Bradley Hart

“My work is an album of memories made by injecting bubble wrap with paint to create pixilated photorealistic pictures. The pictures are copies of both snap shots of important people captured by me or given to me and maintained as a part of my own personal photograph collection, as well as powerful images obtained from other sources.” -Bradley Hart

Bubble wrap, his “canvas”, ,,,, is a material invented in 1957. It was originally intended as three-dimensional wallpaper, before becoming protective wrapping material. Hart, … transforms the plastic traditionally used to wrap, protect and cover artworks into the material surface of his paintings.*

The round bubbles represent “pixels” and this relates directly to our age of digital photography. Hart draws on digital photos for subject matter, usually portraits reminiscent of works by Andy Warhol and Chuck Close. While the bubbles symbolize pixels in our contemporary minds, the paint-filled bubbles also harken back to Seurat and display an unusual and unique form of post-modern pointillism.*

See more of Bradley Hart’s work here:
https://www.instagram.com/bradleyhartnyc/
and
https://www.bradleyhart.ca/Artist.asp?ArtistID=37166&Akey=5BDJN8BK&ajx=1#!Group1_Pf162935

Artist’s Statement
https://www.bradleyhart.ca/Artist.asp?ArtistID=37166&Akey=5BDJN8BK&ajx=1#!asset49636

All images © Bradley Hart. FolioLink © Kodexio ™ 2022

Roberto's Fascinating Two-Cents:
“I have used bubble wrap, and other industrial materials,
as painting tools to make textures
and as a contact-print technique
in several of my ‘Mindscape’ paintings...

…and even on a mural project for a school library mural
with a ’Sunday in the Park’ theme. The bubble wrap was a great way to reproduce Georges Seurat’s pointillist painting technique. Here’s a link to that project with a slide show of how it was done.” Altadena Arts Magnet Library Murals -RQ
_____________________

Visit our homepage for the top stories of the day: https://www.insider.com

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Faux Finishes, Part III: Paint Finishes

2/20/2023

1 Comment

“Here is another one of my favorite books from my library!...
This book is kind of inconspicuous in that each chapter is rather short and he doesn’t go into great detail, but he covers a lot of ground with good demonstration photos.
The chapter titles are rather terse (but I have added the subcategories to show what is covered).
Once you have some of the basics down in terms of materials and tools, many of the techniques are pretty straight forward. It’s all in the ‘Doing’. Practice, practice, practice!” -RQ

Paint Finishes
by Charles Hemming
A concise 'How to Guide' to faux-finish painting techniques including: Dragging, Combing, Rag-Roll, Sponge, Marble,
Stipple, Wood-Graining, Fantasy finishes, and Trompe l’Oeil.

Step-by-step projects for decorative finishes on walls, along with technical information and methods, make this a complete guide for exploring the many possibilities of paint.
144 pages, Hardcover
Over 250 Illustrations, more than 200 in full color.
Demonstrations by Peter Farlow

Chapters

1. Choosing a Color Scheme
(Color Theory, Use of Color, Off-Hues, Discordant Colors, Color effects with Glazes)

2. Tools & Materials / Trouble Shooting Guide
(Paint Types, Tinting, Equipment, General Painting Sequence)

3. Preparing the Surface
(Old Paint, New Plaster, New or Newly Stripped Wood, Varnished and Waxed Wood, Paper, Fabric, Metal, Tiles)

4. Broken Color
( Color Washing, Shading, Sponging, Stippling, Dragging and Combing, Ragging and Rag-Rolling, Spattering, Antiquing)

5. Fantasy Decoration
(Marbling: Cissing, White Sicilian, Rose, Black Serpentine, Red, Terra Verde, Blue, Floors, Tortoiseshell: Golden,, Auburn, Amber; Porphyry, Wood Graining, Glaze Graining, Bamboo)

6. Finishing Touches
(Lining, Trompe L’Oeil, Picking Out/Accenting, Stenciling, Glass Painting)

Also by Charles Hemming:

“British Painters of the Coast and Sea”

Charles Hemming
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001KE24E0/about
Charles Hemming's enthusiasm for writing and painting began in childhood. On leaving art school he worked as a free-lance writer and artist, exhibiting pictures in London galleries in Mayfair and the South Bank, illustrating books, painting murals and working in other decorative arts in Britain, France and Spain.
He has exhibited pictures with the Royal Society of Marine Artists and is a member of the Guild of Aviation Artists.
He is the author of the award-winning history books British Painters of the Coast and Sea, British Landscape Painters, The Folding Screen, technique books Paint Finishes, the Complete Paint Book, and is a one-time author of the Bluffers' Guides.

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Faux Finishes, Part B: Isabel O'Neil Studio

1/30/2023

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ISABEL O’NEIL
Isabel O’Neil (1908-1981) was an acclaimed authority in the field of decorative arts. A New York-based conservator, teacher, and inventor of painted finishes, she was often called upon to restore painted finishes on antique furnishings. She found great inspiration in the techniques and materials used by European craftsmen.

Isabel’s early curiosity in replicating Old-World craftsmanship led her to study at Skidmore College and Yale University, where she researched the historic origins of the painted finish. Then she traveled to Europe to observe the working methods of skilled craftsmen. Upon returning to her New York studio, she replicated the historical European methods she studied and introduced modern materials to her process.

Isabel dedicated her life to teaching and perpetuating the Art of the Painted Finish. Throughout her teaching career, she accumulated a body of historical information, contemporary resources, and innovative procedures. Using 20th Century materials, she formulated new methods of achieving faux and fantasy finishes to simulate precious materials including marble, rare wood marquetry, tortoise shell, ivory, shagreen, lapis lazuli, and malachite.

The publication of her 1971 book, The Art of the Painted Finish for Furniture & Decoration, gave her further acclaim as an authority in painted finishes. Featuring more than one hundred and fifty finishes, it remains the standard for the most comprehensively-written reference and instructional guide on the subject.

Her Studio
Admirers of Isabel’s work persuaded her to teach and in 1955 she founded her eponymous studio workshop. In Europe she discovered the method of instruction she used as a model for her school: the guild system of the Renaissance. In this system, novice students learn through apprenticing under master craftsmen. Skilled apprentices, in turn, instruct new students. This method of teaching and adherence to the recommended curriculum ensures that every student has the same training and each student understands and maintains the exacting standards of the Studio.

Since its inception, the Isabel O’Neil Studio has grown into an internationally-recognized art school, with works exhibited at The Museum of the City of New York and a curated collection featured at Tiffany & Co. Today the Studio remains true to its founder’s vision, and includes a cadre of Studio-trained instructors who are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards and traditional methods of the Art of the Painted Finish. The eagerness of students to continue in this craft has encouraged the development of additional finishes and workshops to teach the process.

Her Mission
Isabel O’Neil opened her Studio in 1955. A visionary teacher, conservator, and inventor in the field of decorative arts, once called, “the grande dame of American painted finishes,” by House & Garden magazine, she inspired many students to dedicate themselves to the continued teaching and preservation of the art and craft of the painted finish.

Today master artisan-teachers at the Isabel O’Neil Studio carry on the legacy of Isabel by guiding students through a traditional journeyman guild system that encourages creative innovation.

The curriculum, taught in person in New York City, is an exploration of painting techniques that build upon students’ skills and creativity as they acquire the confidence to execute finishes of the highest historical and contemporary quality on furniture and objects. The Studio is more than a school; many who have completed the program remain connected to the community it fosters, often returning to teach.

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Faux Finishes, Part 1

1/9/2023

0 Comments

Here is another one of my favorite books from my library...

“The Art of the Painted Finish
for Furniture and Decoration”
Antiquing, Lacquering, Gilding & The Great Impersonators
By Isabel O’Neil

'The Art of Painted Finish for Furniture & Decoration: Antiquing, Lacquering, Gilding & the Great Impersonators' comes with 38 color plates, including 80 life-style samples,
and 100 how-to drawings.
Painted finishes can be applied almost everywhere -- on furniture, decorative objects, even the walls of rooms.
This book rescues and re-creates this nearly lost art
and does so with the realistic and practical use
of modern tools and materials.
Generously illustrated, this is a reference book,
studio manual, and art book all in one.
It is indispensable to professionals -- architects, interior designers and decorators, artists, art teachers and students, and furniture designers -- and to all those interested in arts, crafts and antiques.

Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Color Plates
How to use this Book
Historical Background
___
Part I) Painting, Antiquing & Distressing: Mediums and Methods
Color
Preparation of Surface:
Basic Tools & Methods
Paint
Antiquing
Varnishes
Distressing
___
Part II) Glazes, Lacquer & Casein:
Old Techniques Updated
Glazes
History of Lacquer
Lacquer Techniques
Casein
___
Part III) Leafing, Gilding and Burnishing: Traditional Techniques
Introduction
Mat Gilding
Antique Patina for Leaf
Burnishing
___
Part IV) The Great Impersonators:
Faux Finishes
Introduction
Bamboo
Porphyry
Faux Marbre
Faux Tortoise Shell
Lapis Lazuli
Faux Bois
Malachite
Six Fantasies
___
Subject Outline
Craftsmen and Students workin the Color Plates
Suggested Reading
About the Author

"Decorative painting is any painting that serves to adorn or embellish a surface with design motifs, decorative accents, trompe l’Oeil and/or painted faux finishes. The techniques of decorative painting are complex and require years of study and practice to master.
This book is based on the course of study devised through years of detailed instruction, research and experimentation at Isabel O’Neil’s Studio/Workshop. This well written book can take an absolute novice through the many levels of skill required for the creation of breathtakingly beautiful finishes.”
-Roberto Quintana

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Anamorphic illusions

9/19/2022

2 Comments

Anamorphic illusionism:
anamorphic | ˈanəˈˌmôrfik | adjective
Denoting or relating to a distorted projection or drawing that appears normal when viewed from a particular point-of-view.

VF Corporation headquarter’s office in Switzerland. By the collective Truly Design – Urban Artists.

Felice Varini is a Swiss artist who paints on architectural and urban spaces,

http://www.varini.org/

By muralist Peeta

Portuguese artist Sergio Odeith creates remarkable anamorphic murals that appear to pop out of the walls on which they are painted. Odeith began making graffiti in the 1980s, before branching out into large-scale murals and his signature anamorphic works.

And of course a few murals by the Queen of 3D

Pandora

Tracy Lee Stum

Tracy Lee Stum:
“Today, artists have a wide range of tools to achieve what’s called contemporary anamorphic art, a designed method or technology used to create the illusion of 3D on 2D surfaces. It’s a method of drawing founded on the geometry of perspective, often using photography or computer programs as tools to achieve the final chalk-and-paint illusion.”

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Break-Through Murals!

8/8/2022

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Break-Throughs are playful illusions utilizing the wall-surface as a design element to create an opening or a break-away effect, thereby revealing a hidden world or an emerging subject. Break-Throughs often incorporate linear perspective techniques, trompe l’oeil and/or faux finishes, quadrature Illusionism, and/or anamorphic effects.
I’ll do future posts on all of these Illusion techniques.
Here are a few examples:

John Pugh: Taylor Hall, California State University, Chico, California

Roberto Quintana for Carrow’s restaurant interior

Roberto Quintana: private residence entryway

Roberto Quintana: Oculus ceiling mural for Tourmaline Studios

Morgan Mural Studios: Santa Clara County Fairgrounds

Tracy Lee Stum: Raider Power

Roberto Quintana: Grand American Fare/ Paddy Boots, Denver, Colorado

Boss Graphics

Roberto Quintana for Boss Graphics

Laurence ‘Link’ Linkus: ‘An Hows Yur...?’ for Grand American Fare

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A Purple Portrait!

8/1/2022

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I just put the finishing touches on this portrait
of my beloved, Susan.
It is an Oil painting on a canvas panel, about 24”x18”

Susan liked to wear and surround herself with purples, so I chose a split-primary color scheme using Ultramarine Blue (semi-transparent) and Quinacridone Red (semi-transparent), which when mixed together makes a very lively Purple, with a tad of Burnt Umber (a purple-like earth tone) and a micro-tad of Perylene Black (semi-transparent). The Perylene is a greenish-black used as a foil against the Quinacridone. I prefer using Lead-White when mixing flesh tones because it is more transparent than Titanium-White, and doesn’t make for ‘chalky’ colors.
The difficult task was to paint a 'Purple Portrait' which didn’t look ghoulish, and to try and capture Susan’s big ‘toothy’ smile, which I love so much and which was such a joyous aspect of who she was, while not turning her beautiful grin into 'a Grin'.
I started this during the last year that she was with us and I have been noodling with it until just recently when I added the Black and Burnt-Umber to the background behind her jaw and neck. At some point you just have to let go... and call it ‘done’.

Susan My Beloved,
Farewell...

On a forgotten journey
to somewhere once
a long time ago
I found myself
distracted by a beautiful
wildflower,
bright and true,
growing amid the roses.
I came to you
down by the river
like a perfect Fool
as Parsifal to Blanchefleur.
Your scent filled my senses
and I became drunk with you!
And dreamed…
The Drunkards’ Dream
of hearth and home
and contentment.
My cup overflowing
as you poured your love into me.
Your love transformed me.
Transformed my World.
Transformed my Universe.
My Forever Love.
My all.
My ally.
My Wild Iris
Mi Corazon.

...But now the banquet is over,
the courtyard stands empty
the drawbridge withdrawn.
The Grail Castle has vanished!
Now I know the treachery
of the lost precious.
The bewilderment of Parsifal
abandoned and lost
in a wilderness of pain and sorrow.
Now I know the despair of Rumi
at the murder and loss
of Shams of Tabriz.
Queen of my heart
My Forever Love.
My Perfect, Perfect Love.
I miss you so much…
Without you
I am like a speck of dust
blown away
in the breeze...

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Fun with Paint! / Pour-Painting

7/11/2022

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I recently had a visit from a good friend of mine from up-state New York, and he reminded me about a pour-painting project his fiance' worked on during her collage years. I looked up the YouTube video and there she was! Pouring her little heart out.
Nice job, Rita!

If you think this looks like fun...
Here are a few great blog-sites for some cool
Pour-Painting techniques and materials:

Jerrys Artarama

Acrylic Pouring Painting Art – 3 Acrylic Pouring Techniques & Supplies

Fluid Painting Blog:

acrylic-pour-techniques

Ken Bromley Art Supplies

9 Basic and Advanced Acrylic Pouring Techniques

Olga Soby

Pouring TIPS! Gorgeous VIOLET + TURQUOISE + GOLD ~ Acrylic Pouring

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...to Roberto's Blog!

‘Duit-On-Mon
-Dai-Luna-Prime’

  Roberto has been pestering the ‘Marketing’ staff here at Art and Soul for some time now to get together with ‘Research and Development’ to come up with a fun way for him to share all the great work out there of all the many other talented muralists and artists he's been "influenced by" over the years. ‘Sales’ was totally against the idea! ("How could that possibly improve the bottom-line?!"). ‘Marketing’ remains split, as usual ("We need more data"). ‘R&D’ thought it might be a fun way to "show off a little", and to showcase all those great ideas they keep finding out there on the internet. ‘HR’ said it might be a good way to keep 'The Crew' distracted ("Since they are all so bored since Covid hit, and Roberto is spending more and more time in his studio working on all those silly little easel paintings").
'The Crew' said: ’'Sure, We've got nothing else going on …but only if we get to share stuff about technique, materials, and equipment." ‘Receivables’ said: "It obviously won’t make more work for us, so why not!". 'Legal' said: "No Way! You are NOT going to reveal where you steal all your ideas from!" (Although Roberto values their legal advice, He rarely listen’s to their hysterics anyway). So... here we are! Welcome!

‘Duit-On-Mon-Dai-Luna-Prime’
     "As the title implies, I will post once a Month (on the first Monday, more or less). Feel free to leave a family friendly comment. Dialogue and praise is encouraged. Creativity, passion and wonder should be expected. Politics and personal grievances hopefully kept to private emails. And please… no Whining! and no sales pitches either (you can make your own damn blog for that).
   I expect to start becoming a little more savvy with all this social media stuff, but for now ‘Bookmark’ my website and check back every once in a while. I hope you will find it interesting. Don’t be too persnickety over my whimsical spelling and creative punctuations either, my Editorial Department is not what it used to be… I am seriously understaffed these days."
Peace and Love...
-Roberto Quintana, WFA

Atelier Saint-Luc and Blackwing pencils

Tool-Hack / Trompe L’Oeil Brick

Funny Signs / Woodland Manufacturing

"Sign Painters" by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon

Faux Finishes, Part 4b: Soft Surfaces

"Mastering Layout: on the art of eye appeal" by Mike Stevens.

Faux Finishes, Part 4: Surfaces!

Fun with Paint!: BRADLEY HART / Bubble Wrap Artist

Faux Finishes, Part III: Paint Finishes

Faux Finishes, Part B: Isabel O'Neil Studio

Faux Finishes, Part 1

Anamorphic illusions

Break-Through Murals!

A Purple Portrait!

Fun with Paint! / Pour-Painting

...to Roberto's Blog!

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