Neil Welliver is one of Patty Haller’s inspirational artists. See a resemblance?
Neil Welliver in conversation with Edwin Denby
Q. Why do you staple the big charcoal drawing to the white canvas?
A. The charcoal drawing, when it is stapled to the white canvas, is ready to be transferred to the canvas and it’s been perforated with a little pouncing wheel so it is filled with tiny holes along the lines of the drawing. When it is stapled there, that puts it in position, so it is registered more or less with the canvas. That drawing is basically to work out problems of scale and size. It has very little to do with description. The description takes place when I’m painting. I mean the painting is in fact done when I paint. The drawing establishes size and to some extent, position, although that changes too. And when it is punctured with the pouncing wheel, it generalizes the drawing again so that all of the changes that you made on paper to find the right size and position and so on, disappear, and the drawing becomes quite general simply because the little wheel is not a drawing tool but rather a tracing tool. And then when it goes to the canvas it is transferred in these very tiny dots which give you a general placement. It tells you roughly where things are going to go on the canvas.
Q. The charcoal doesn’t mix with the paint?
A. I don’t like to mix it with the paint. After I put the charcoal on, I isolate it, with a spray, with a synthetic varnish. I was told by a fortune teller not to use charcoal with my paint.
Q. Yes, I remember that at the Union Fair.
A. At the Union Fair, yes, she said, don’t …
Q. She was very clever.
A. She asked me to ask her a specific question and I said, I use charcoal with my paint. I thought that was very specific. Should I continue that? She said to me, ‘Is it messy?’ And I said, ‘Yes’. She said, ‘Don’t do it’. Very affirmative and very funny. I’ve never done it since. That’s good advice for one dollar.
Bridget Riley’s Op Art When Bridget Riley first exhibited her dizzying black and white abstracts in the 1960s, people were amazed at how the lines and shapes appeared to move and vibrate right off the canvas. It was like she was painting with electricity itself! In 1967, she introduced Seurat-inspired color applications, and her paintings …
The League is venturing into print arts! We asked Brian Lane of Print Zero Studios who was the most funnest, least stuffy printmaking instructor around, and he said “Nikki Barber is hilarious.” We met and hired Nikki straight off the plane from Thailand, where she had traveled to broaden her studies of printmaking, and yes, …
Today’s Challenge: Mix and match figures with an interior from historical artworks. Materials are artist’s choice. #mashup References You can find your own references, or find something in these suggestions: Figures: Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii, Nicolas Poussin, Mughal Indian Miniatures Interiors: Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Edward Hopper Post it To be eligible for prizes …
While we reach for the hand sanitizer and hold our breaths, our Thursday drawing/painting class has been thinking about a different kind of Corona. We’ve been studying the effects of light, especially glow. I was interested in exploring why some images seem to glow. Take the image above as an example. Why, if an all-white …
“Don’t do it” said the fortune teller
Neil Welliver in conversation with Edwin Denby
Q. Why do you staple the big charcoal drawing to the white canvas?
A. The charcoal drawing, when it is stapled to the white canvas, is ready to be transferred to the canvas and it’s been perforated with a little pouncing wheel so it is filled with tiny holes along the lines of the drawing. When it is stapled there, that puts it in position, so it is registered more or less with the canvas. That drawing is basically to work out problems of scale and size. It has very little to do with description. The description takes place when I’m painting. I mean the painting is in fact done when I paint. The drawing establishes size and to some extent, position, although that changes too. And when it is punctured with the pouncing wheel, it generalizes the drawing again so that all of the changes that you made on paper to find the right size and position and so on, disappear, and the drawing becomes quite general simply because the little wheel is not a drawing tool but rather a tracing tool. And then when it goes to the canvas it is transferred in these very tiny dots which give you a general placement. It tells you roughly where things are going to go on the canvas.
Q. The charcoal doesn’t mix with the paint?
A. I don’t like to mix it with the paint. After I put the charcoal on, I isolate it, with a spray, with a synthetic varnish. I was told by a fortune teller not to use charcoal with my paint.
Q. Yes, I remember that at the Union Fair.
A. At the Union Fair, yes, she said, don’t …
Q. She was very clever.
A. She asked me to ask her a specific question and I said, I use charcoal with my paint. I thought that was very specific. Should I continue that? She said to me, ‘Is it messy?’ And I said, ‘Yes’. She said, ‘Don’t do it’. Very affirmative and very funny. I’ve never done it since. That’s good advice for one dollar.
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Day 13: Op Art #30SAL
Bridget Riley’s Op Art When Bridget Riley first exhibited her dizzying black and white abstracts in the 1960s, people were amazed at how the lines and shapes appeared to move and vibrate right off the canvas. It was like she was painting with electricity itself! In 1967, she introduced Seurat-inspired color applications, and her paintings …
Nikki Barber – Printmaking In Northern Thailand
The League is venturing into print arts! We asked Brian Lane of Print Zero Studios who was the most funnest, least stuffy printmaking instructor around, and he said “Nikki Barber is hilarious.” We met and hired Nikki straight off the plane from Thailand, where she had traveled to broaden her studies of printmaking, and yes, …
Day 26: Mashup! #30SAL
Today’s Challenge: Mix and match figures with an interior from historical artworks. Materials are artist’s choice. #mashup References You can find your own references, or find something in these suggestions: Figures: Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii, Nicolas Poussin, Mughal Indian Miniatures Interiors: Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Edward Hopper Post it To be eligible for prizes …
Effects of Light (Part 1)
While we reach for the hand sanitizer and hold our breaths, our Thursday drawing/painting class has been thinking about a different kind of Corona. We’ve been studying the effects of light, especially glow. I was interested in exploring why some images seem to glow. Take the image above as an example. Why, if an all-white …