The Skill of Drawing

Hello Reader

Over the years I have been approached by many people, artists and non-artists alike, who were interested to know what special skill is primary in creating a good representational painting. Whether in egg tempera, acrylics, oils or pastel, a good representational work requires a knowledge of drawing. One of the first things a child does when they get their hands on a crayon, pencil, or chalk is to begin drawing. Lines, curves, scribbles, they go wild with drawn lines. Not coloring in broad areas, not even particularly choosing a color. Drawing lines and shapes. It is primary for human beings to want to place marks on a surface to express ourselves. Letters, musical notes, drawn lines and shapes. It all goes towards the same purpose, communicating our feelings.

As we become more sophisticated with our abilities we will create a musical piece, write a thesis, draw an image. As a visual artist, probably the onee thing I am most proficient at is drawing. I prepare my egg tempera paintings by first drawing my composition on a paper, then my painting panel refining as I go. Only after my drawing is to my liking do I start adding paint. That being said, on July 11th I am exhibiting over 20 of my pen and ink drawings in Athens Georgia at the Lyndon House Fine Art Center. Many of these drawings were the inspiration for paintings I have done. Some may end up as future paintings.

Some of the most important aspects of drawing that I feel are imperative to a good representation piece are composition, perspective, weight, and texture. Let me take each of these items and explain what I find important in them.

Composition, probably the most important element in good drawing, is organizing the arrangement of elements in the drawing space. The importance is to get the viewer to follow the image elements towards the center of interest of your drawing while developing a pleasing layout. A good composition will automatically attract the viewer. Guidelines towards a good composition are fairly specific but are only guidelines. In the long run, the artist must use their own intuitive nature to create their recognized style. Some of my guidelines include: 1) deciding on and creating the primary focal point, the area that you want your viewer to eventually concentrate on, 2) determining the foreground, middle ground, and background of the image, 3) balancing of elements in the piece to keep create a work that is not overweighted in one spot, 4) adding weight which help make the elements feel as though they exist on an actual plane and are not floating in space (unless you have something deliberately floating in space). Along with these I include detailing through shading or crosshatching, using negative areas to attract attention towards or away from objects, creating interesting shapes within the composition, and more.

I hope that you are able to visit the Lyndon House show where my drawings are balanced with the beautiful fine art photography of Tim Reilly, a Madison artist who creates his special images through the camera's lens.

Have a great day.

Pete

Friends in Art

Hi All

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist and getting involved publicly with an art community is the great friends that you make over the years. It has been my pleasure to be associated with visual artists, sculptors, musicians, photographers, writers, artists of many stripes over my artistic lifetime.

One of the very first was my mentor and art teacher in 9th grade, Andrew Palencar. Andy taught interested students the most sophisticated techniques from the old masters like Rembrandt and Vermeer and he really knew his stuff. I distinctly remember an exhibit of his works at Wilkes College when I was in the 11th grade that demonstrated his mastery of the human figure. It was a restricted show at the time because one of Andy's paintings was titled "Nude" and young people weren't permitted to view the show. With Andy's help I was able to sneak in (in secrecy) and get an in spiring look at his fine workmanship and his genius. Andy passed away a few years back from complications after heart bypass surgery. Sad to say I cannot find one reference to Andy's actual work on the internet, although several of his former students have given him the highest credit for their artistic success.

Things have come a long way since then. Now we can have our works posted on the internet as well as in galleries all over the world, even if we did paint a nude. I'm proud to say that I developed a life long love of art, whether I produce it or someone else does, in most part due to the insight that Andy gave me about the artist vision. It seems that many non-artists feel as though artistic works are just a cast off of one's innate abilities and not worth a serious examination. I've noticed over the months that I have been director at the Pantheon Fine Art Gallery that many browsers give but a cursory glance at works on exhibit.

All artistic expression is an insight into the artist's psyche, what is on their mind, in their heart, and what they want the public to know about them as well as the subject matter. Different artists present this in a variety of ways through music, painting, acting, sculpting, writing, etc. and through varying levels of proficiency. Either way you look at it, artistic expression is one of the most profound means of communication and examples of historical perspective on a region, an era, and a peoples' mindset at any given time. That makes art one of the most valuable resources that civilization has to offer to mankind.

So, the next time you visit a show, or see some work on-line, try to remember that you aren't just viewing someone's creation, you are getting a first hand look at history in the making.

Just some thoughts for today. Thank you for taking the time to read them and I am interested in your opinion.

Pete

New happenings

Another Monday and I must say that I'm glad to see this weekend behind me. Saturday morning was a shock when I discovered that my main hard drive with all of my customers' images was not mounting. I spent the entire day trying out different solutions but to no avail. I should have been doing my artwork instead of wasting time on the computer. Anyway, I have someone looking to at least retrieve the files next week while I am in Pennsylvania.

Sunday morning, around 7 am, I routinely put wild bird seed in our outside bird feeders and scatter some on the ground outside my studio. It was early and I was still in my bedroom slippers. Stepping back after spreading the bird seed I stepped on something soft. When I looked down and lifted my foot I saw what I stepped on. A coiled rattlesnake. I had stepped directly in the center and somehow it prevented the snake from striking. As you might guess I had the biggest adrenaline rush ever. I had never expected a rattler to be in my yard but now I watch every place that I step.

I did get some drawing done later in the day Sunday and I'm making progress with a planned show in Athens Georgia starting July 11.

Take care, and watch where you step.

Pete

Payment for work done

Well here we are again, discussing creating art. Instead of talking about how I make art using the egg tempera medium, allow me to hit on a subject that most of us small business owners must deal with, payment for our work.

As we all know, creating art is not an inexpensive process. There is the education, the years of experience, and the supplies, not to mention the overhead: electricity, space, heating/air conditioning, easels, drawing table, camera, etc., show invitations, ads and more, all tend to add up costing us thousands of dollars. And yet, even though we work hard to develop a style, produce product that gives beauty and value to peoples' lives, getting paid what our work deserves can be one of our most difficult hurtles in the creative process.

It's been an uphill battle over my entire career and when the economy goes south, that is the toughest time to sell art. Besides my own egg temperas and other works I am responsible for the sales of works by other artists through the Pantheon Fine Art Gallery at which I am the director.

Recently we promoted a special show on equine art pieces. Targeted a market that love the subject. We placed posters around the area almost a month in advance of the opening, sent out 500 invitations to interested horse owners, ranches, regional art buyers, and personally visited guest ranches. We sent press releases to all of the regional media as well as art groups and visitor centers. On opening night, May 30, 2008 where a show would probably have 150-250 attendees, we had around 50. Slow economy? The featured artist had wonderful pieces ranging in price from $150 to $5,000. Eight other artists in a second floor gallery had beautiful works priced from $150 to $2,000. To date 4 pieces have sold in the $250 to $700 range.

I should say, I also print Giclée fine art and art photography works for artists. Usually the customer pays promptly but since this economic downturn, I am finding payments are coming later and later. At a time when supplies are getting more expensive and work is getting harder to come by, getting paid late is not very helpful.

These are tough times to make a living as an artist and it will surely be a test of our creative resolve.

Painting the Rural Scene

I have been drawing and painting ever since I can remember. I spent most of my formative years on a farm in rural Pennsylvania. Expressing my feelings about nature with pencil and paint came second nature to me. I would even sketch my father's friends when he would be playing cards. It was not until I was in 9th grade and learning structured art techniques under the guidance of my art teacher Andrew Palencar in 1961 that I discovered that my mother had a fine ability to draw, although my dad discouraged her from self expression. Her uncle Steve also drew and wrote books. I guess that this is where most of my creative spirit sprang from.

Andy Palencar started teaching me old master techniques, I was especially drawn to glazing. It was after I had been in the military for several months during the Vietnam conflict when I found out that one of my teachers had come to our house with the offer of a college scholarship in Architecture. It took me 12 years before I was finally able to return to school and work towards a degree in commercial art. During those 12 years I had traveled far and wide with the US Navy, went to many Navy schools and visited several countries. I kept drawing and painting in my spare time and did paintings for friends in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam as well as my fellow sailors and units. I visited many museums, read lots of books on art and it was a Navy friend, John Beckvermit, who gave me a copy of a book on egg tempera in 1982. I had dabbled in the medium before that but it was through reading this book, The Practice of Tempera Painting by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr., that I came to begin to understand the value and technique of working with egg tempera.

After 1982 my interest in this medium became intense and I worked with it every chance I could. I've painted on many surfaces including masonite, Strathmore illustration board, 300# watercolor paper in cold press and hot press, but m ost of my panels are prepared on cabinet grade birch plywood. I use rabbit skin glue for the sealer, tradition glue gesso for the white ground, and if the panel is thin, I will cradle the back. I have posted a detail of my preparation and working technique on my web site, http://www.petermuzyka.com.

I'll detail more of what and why I paint in future blog posts.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Pete

Art Pieces in Egg Tempera

Hello
Here are some of the art pieces that I have painting over the years using egg tempera. Most are painted on hardboard panels whowever some were painted using 300# watercolor paper. I have also employed water soluble graphite, pastel, and India ink in my egg tempera paintings.
The Ibis painting was done 1n 2007 and painted on a birch panel. The farmhouse with the red roof was painted in 2004 and also domne on a birch panel.
The out building was painted in 1984 and I used agesso coated masonite hardboard panel as the support.
No captured image can compare with the true beauty of the colors in an original egg tempera painting.

Painting in egg tempera

Hello
I paint mostly in the medium of egg tempera. It is an ancient technique using egg yoke and pigment over an ink drawing on an absorbent ground. Because of the brittle nature of the final dried painting, the work is painted on a solid support such as a wood panel. I've been painting in this medium for over 30 years and have developed my own technique of handling the medium. I also have successfully painted with the egg mixture on archival watercolor paper. As I post future blogs, I will outline my technique for painting in this fascinating medium and why I feel that it is well worth exploring for many of today's artists. In the meantime, please visit my website at www.petermuzyka.com to see some of my work, read my philosophy on painting the vanishing rural American landscape, and view some of my other works in oils, pen and ink, etc.