TerraSkin vs. Yupo

I’ve been using both TerraSkin and Yupo paper for several years.  These two smooth papers have been produced as shopping bags and labels, envelopes, wristbands, signs, banners, booklets and more before it came to the fine art world.

I heard that TerraSkin was a more eco-friendly alternative than Yupo synthetic paper but it’s really a toss-up.  Neither use trees to make their paper, both conserve water in their production processes and both are non-toxic.  The biggest difference is in the plastic they use to hold the ground stone, also known as Calcium Carbonate together as a sheet.  Yupo uses Polypropylene which has a high melting point, is pliable has a slight static charge (attracts dirt and dust), and costs less than Terraskin.

Terraskin uses High-density Polyethylene with a lower melting point, is less pliable, doesn’t carry a static charge (attracts less dirt and dust) but costs more due to a higher purity (100% virgin).

Here is what these two chemicals look like:

I’ve made up charts of each paper’s properties below.

My Thoughts on Synthetic papers:

Synthetic papers are easy to work with and have only slight differences that I’ve noticed.  The paper doesn’t need to be stretched.  It doesn’t shrink or expand.  They work fairly well with wet or dry mediums but the floating wet paints take a lot of practice to control.  Terraskin seems easier for layering colors but with patience and practice you can find ways to work with both.

If you are not happy with your painting, you can take it right to the sink and wash it off, although Terraskin tends to stain with certain pigments.

Tyvek is another synthetic material that painters are experimenting with but I haven’t worked with this yet.  Synthetic papers are being embraced by artists for their durability, eco-friendly qualities and their unique painting surfaces.

These papers may be better for the environment due to their tree-free and low water production processes but many of our oceans have plastics floating in them causing problems for the marine wildlife.  So I would advise painters to re-use and recycle their papers rather than tossing in the garbage.  Since I work in watercolor, it’s easy to just rinse off a painting and start again.  If you are using a more permanent medium and wish to start over, remember to use the back or maybe you would turn it into a collage or recycle where #2 plastics can be recycled as an alternative.

 

CREDITS:  https://www.globalplasticsheeting.com/our-blog-resource-library/bid/92169/polypropylene-is-it-different-from-polyethylene  http://www.sea.edu/plastics/frequently_asked_questions, http://www.sea.edu/plastics/current_sea_research

“Creeping Yellow Roses”, Watercolor on TerraSkin paper, 26″x34″ Katie Turner

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Choosing To Go Her Own Direction

“The Sun and the Moon”,  2005, oil on canvas on wood, 9’9”x8’11”x2” by Elizabeth Murray

The first time I heard of Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007) was when Kathryn Bilharz-Gabriel  mentioned her 2018 Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency  over the summer.  A few weeks later, PBS aired the documentary film “Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray” American Masters.  Murray was known for her use of shaped canvases and bold colorful abstracts.  She rejected the minimalism of the time, choosing to go her own direction.

I found her story encouraging for women and also in that she was still painting and pushing herself artistically until her death.  She was one of only five female artists to have a retrospective at the MoMA and she was very dedicated to her work.

I find her work fabulously noisy, eccentric, strange and successful.  Her art has images exploding with zany energy and color.  They have a sort of music to them.  There is something unique about Murray’s art that just works.  I look forward to seeing her work in person the next time I am able to visit NYC.

If you’d like to read more about Elizabeth Murray, here are some links:

https://elizabethmurrayart.org/biography/

https://art21.org/artist/elizabeth-murray/

https://www.moma.org/artists/4185

https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/318/elizabeth-murray

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Unusual Materials

Artists are known for creating all kinds of odd and wonderful things, so it’s not a surprise to see art using Tyvek®.

DuPont™ produces Tyvek® which is best known for its application as housewrap.  It is used to protect the walls of a home from moisture.  Tyvek® is also used in medical packaging, protective clothing and now in all kinds of art, jewelry and more.

Ula Einstein is an artist living in New York City who creates with Tyvek®.  She first started working with Tyvek® in 2008.  Einstein usually starts her process with cutting the Tyvek®, then uses a variety of techniques including: painting, scorching, piercing, crumpling, searing, drawing out and layering.  All these, result in innovative works that are a cross between paintings and sculpture together.

Her works titled “Hybrid In(ter)ventions” exhibited at the FLUX Art Fair 2015 in NYC.

There is an article about her work here: Tyvek Graphics Einstein

Other artists who create with Tyvek® include Taiko Chandler, and Susan Greer Emmerson, Tom Sachs, Kathy McCreedy and more.

If you are looking to try your hand at creating with Tyvek®, it can be purchased online by roll (22”x84”) for approx.. $9.99 from ebay, etsy, amazon and also www.hollanders.com which sells  bookbinding supplies.

Dupont has information on artists who use their Tyvek® product here: Tyvek Graphics Uses Article

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Something is Better than Nothing

“Purple Pole Beans”, Watercolor on Yupo paper, Katie Turner

A fellow artist approached me recently bemoaning that his drawing wasn’t as he would have liked it.  When I asked him why he didn’t like his drawing he explained that it had been done using a photo reference rather than sketching it “en plein air”.

In my opinion, drawing from a photo is certainly better than not drawing at all.  But without the right approach it can be a sad experience with drawings and paintings that look flat, lifeless and soulless.

So how do you keep your drawing or painting from lacking soul? First, have a positive attitude and then an open mind. What are you feeling as you draw this?  What senses are affecting you during the drawing process?  What is it about this particular subject that you want to communicate to the viewer in your drawing?

Another thing to consider is what the photographer has already done in the photo.  How have they already edited the scene and what can you do to make it your scene rather than just a repeat of what the photographer created?  What else can you bring to this drawing that would make it fresh and spice it up?

Remember that your art tells your story and you get to choose what you want to say and how to say it.   Happy creating. ♦

Rodin’s Answer to Rejection.

The Benedictions, executed 1894
Musee Rodin cast number unknown, 1955 bronze
Marked: “A. Rodin”, “Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris”
35 1/2x24x19” Lent by the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Attending Syracuse University’s Lunchtime Lecture afforded me the opportunity to hear Professor Romita Ray’s wealth of information and insight into the current show, Rodin: The Human Experience.

This free event is open to the public and gives visitors a chance to familiarize themselves with Rodin and all of the SU Galleries in the Shaffer Art Building on campus.

The show has 28 bronze sculptures all by the French sculptor, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917).  Rodin is considered the father of modern European sculpture and he studied under Antoine Louis-Barye.

Rodin came from a working class family, his father a police inspector and his mother a seamstress.  After he was rejected from Ecole des Beaux-Arts (art school), he worked for sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse for six years.  After having his sculpture rejected from the Salon several times, he was determined to continue working in his own style.  He was inspired by Michelangelo’s work during his travels to Italy in 1876.  Not long after that his work began receiving positive attention and international fame.

Professor Ray gave insight into the political events that were happening during the time Rodin was creating various sculptures. It was interesting how critics of the era responded.  She took time to describe the actual process of creating a bronze sculpture, which I found very helpful.  She told us how Rodin described sculpting as simply “making holes and bumps”, gave a hand-out full of detail and explained how the Rodin sculptures “Vibrate” power without many details.  It is fascinating to see how this artist was able to give the feeling of flesh and fabric using a metal.  Some of Rodin’s sculptures feature oversized feet, hands or other body parts, which Professor Ray stated “Art is about more than beauty, it’s also about exaggeration.”  I saw the exaggeration as Rodin’s expression of power or strength.

Professor Ray explained that the emotional pieces that were rejected were also the same pieces that later were considered to be masterpieces.  Rodin’s art is considered a link between traditional and modern sculpture and is rich with feeling.

I appreciate artist stories and particularly enjoy hearing the successes – how one persevered, overcame and found success.  What can I take away from this?  Sometimes it’s important to ignore the critics (even if they are only in your own head) and push yourself to create the best work you possibly can.

Syracuse University has many free events, so be sure to check out their art and newsletter here: http://suart.syr.edu/  ♦

Chromatic Interaction

Sketchbook – random circles

sketchbook page – wavy lines

sketchbook page – painted circles

There are many methods for organizing colors in the world of art and science.  Having a visual model can help an artist see the relationships colors have with each other. A color wheel, developed by Albert Munsell in 1905, assigned a numbering system to colors and became a useful and common tool artists and designers could use for planning color ideas.  Johannes Itten also developed a three-dimensional model, integrating the color wheel into a globe.

Using a sketchbook to study colors can help an artist examine the relationships between warmer and cooler colors as well as between analogous and complementary colors.  As a watercolorist, I can gain an understanding of how the various watercolors work together, but may find changes as I experiment with different brands.

Testing chromatic interaction doesn’t have to be boring at all – try this exercise for fun:

1. Draw several free-hand circles in various sizes.  Allow them to overlap.  This first step is optional, since you could just create your circles with the brush.
2. Start with the largest circle, painting one color into the circle.
3. Clean the brush with water before adding a second color. Paint the new color into the adjoining circle on the first circle.  Watch the colors bleed, paying attention to how the colors are interacting.
4. Continue painting circles with different colors.
5. This is only one way to paint the circles. You could also wait for each circle to dry before painting the next, so there would be no “bleeding” of colors.

Have fun!

To read more about color theory, click here: https://watercolorpainting.com/color/

https://uxplanet.org/algorithm-for-automatic-harmonious-color-selection-for-the-image-fc26dde69ca1

The Munsell Color System: https://web.archive.org/web/20030813092028/http://www.adobe.com/support/techguides/color/colormodels/munsell.html

Itten Color: https://www.bauhaus100.de/en/past/teaching/classes/preliminary-course-by-johannes-itten/index.html

An art & design duo from Milan have chromatic interaction art:  https://www.carnovsky.com/RGB.htm

Art Park Inspiration

Arlene Abend “Aggression”

Sculpture by Arlene Abend

Inspiration can come from many places but this past weekend I found inspiration at the Arlene Abend Exhibit and Reception.  The event was located at the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, New York and hosted by the Cazenovia Counterpoint.  The Stone Quarry Hill Art Parks grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk and has unique outdoor art throughout the 104 acres.  There are four miles of trails with breathtaking views.

Land was purchased in 1958 by Dorothy and Robert Riester and the house and studio at the top of the hill are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Arlene Abend’s reception included a documentary film by Courtney Rile which I found entertaining and inspirational.  Abend is a small woman with a big personality.  She has spent the last four decades creating her wonderful sculptures.  Some of her favorite tools are the welding torch, plasma cutters, vices and grinders.

I found her large sculptures captivating and thought-provoking.  Her story of overcoming challenges was inspiring to me and I was very happy to watch the film by Courtney Rile.  Abend worked as an artist in the field of metal work which was pretty much dominated by men.  She was not deterred but forged ahead with new ideas and techniques.  She has great enthusiasm which motivates me to continue on with my art.

If you are in the area, I would invite you to stop in at the Stone Quarry Art Park to walk some trails, look at some art and then head into town to visit some of the great little shops and restaurants in Cazenovia.

 

Video link   https://vimeo.com/241040476

article: https://www.syracuse.com/good-life/2016/11/woman_of_steel_with_a_welding.html

website link: Stone Quarry Hill Art Park