Happy Halloween!

Posted by Catinka Knoth at 3:22 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

December 2, 2005 This morning I was doing yet another idle google for 'Maine watercolors' to see if my site would come up in the top 20 search results yet. No. (I know, top 20 is pretty meaningless - who would go that deep to find Maine watercolors?) But whenever I do such a search I do check out anything that catches me eye. I cannot remember why I checked out the site of Maureen Mullarkey but thank goodness I did. And I don't remember how she connects to Maine watercolors. (She's written reviews of various Maine artists.) But her site and her painting just floored me. She paints the figure with such a strong sense of the magical. The paintings are modern day versions of Medieval Art. I am so inspired because this is a vein of imagery/painting that I've left aside for so long and looking at her paintings I'm longing to return and feel quite moved to do so. In any case I start at least by writing this here.

And that reminds me - the other day I got a call from a dear long lost friend, Susan L. Schmidt. She is a painter who lives in Mexico City. I told her I've been googling for her work for ages and can hardly find it. She does have a website, Schmidteditions.com, and her work is also magical and figurative but more surrealistic. Her most recent work seems to have a strong connection to the artist Rene Magritte.

Having Magritte on my mind therefore, the other day in the cafe we go to after the watercolor class I teach, a book on Magritte caught my eye. (They now have a bookshelf from which to browse and/or buy) I took down the book and came upon his paintings "This is not a Pipe" and "This is not an Apple". The paintings, and his commentary about them, I thought would be such perfect illustrations for my students of this issue that I'm having such a hard time communicating....

February 20, 2006 ...But now I cannot express exactly what that connection is. That is why I have left this post as a draft for 2 1/2 months. I've been hoping it would come to me. And now I put it to you dear reader (should there be any of you) to leave a comment.

October 25, 2008 - More than two years later, in hopes that I can clarify the connections. Magritte means with his pipe and apple paintings that the painting is not real, it is an illusion. My students want so much to paint something that is 'real'. Until one understands that the 'realness' of something comes from another plane than that which makes the illusion of realness, one cannot hope to convey any kind of realness. Capture spirit and magic first because only that is truly real. I'm still not getting this in words. So be it.

As for large figure paintings that I thought I'd be doing after the inspirations of Maureen Mullarkey - I am at least making large demonstration drawings for my weekly library drawing workshops for kids. The subject matter is often from the inner world of the imagination, so there is a bit of an outlet for that interest of mine. I want to go much more that way though. Let this be my declaration that I will take steps in that direction, small as they might be.

Posted by Catinka Knoth at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 26 October 2008 4:27 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

A novice painter asked today  how to photograph her work to save the images for future possible reproduction as notecards or prints, so that she can go ahead and sell her paintings. I sent off a brief overview reply and then did a search to see what I could find online. The search - how to photograph art for reproduction - took several pages of results before anything informative showed up.

My reply and my findings (down below):

This is a complicated question, a huge topic,  that I unfortunately don't have the time to delve into now. It would make a good article for my website when and if I get the chance! Instead, I will try a brief overview:

Art used to get photographed. (Some art still does.) (There is a whole technique and science of how to properly photograph art for  accurate reproduction.) The resulting color transparency, whether 35mm or 4"x5", would then be scanned by a laser drum scanner to create "color separations" which were then used to create plates for printing.
There are now high-end and low-end flat bed scanners that create digital files of flat art. The work must be able to fit on the scanner. Scans can be of enormous 'file' size or much smaller file size. Art may also be photographed by digital camera. Whether by by digital camera or film camera, photographing art for reproduction needs to be done with  special expertise.

As for scanning - you can make phone calls to companies, local or distant, who provide such a service. Ask questions. In the beginning you will betray you naivitee and probably be treated that way. Take notes. Start a rubrik of the information you gather. As you get a bit of info here and there you start to get clues to what else to ask, and will be treated with more respect. Research online (what search led you to find my site?). Look for books related to this topic rather than the top of art or art instruction itself. Don't stop at just one source of information.

My experience in high school working on the yearbook taught me a bit of what was involved in printing. In art college I ended up as a printmaking major, where I learned a bit more. Years later I worked in the graphic arts industry, first as a receptionist at a color separation firm, and then at a sheet fed printer's doing office work, brokering, and production.  I learned on the job. Printing has changed enormously. I continue to learn by researching and paying attention.

I've been making my cards and prints for years by making color xeroxes (at the local copy shops) of my art, which I then cut out and glue onto card stock. It costs far too much to print directly onto card stock. I could never offer the array of work that I have otherwise. I've only been able to make a living from it (barely) because I have such a wide selection of local Maine scenes. And, time is drawing to a close on that chapter. The way I've been making cards is very labor intensive, but does not require large amounts of upfront capital. The labor, however, takes a toll on the hands, and, the glue is toxic. I have other priorities than scanning all that work into digital files, so I'm not sure what will happen next.

My findings:
I've skimmed through the articles found at the links below. They seem to be mostly in depth. One is a digital printer's site - just to give you an idea. I have not evaluated the articles for accuracy but  many are so in depth that I'm inclined to trust them.  At the first link here you should also follow up on the 6 part series on reproducing and marketing one's art work found in their sidebar. There is, however,  a problem with this website in my browser - the left hand margin is nonexistent, thereby cutting off the first letter or two of each line. I saved the articles by selecting the text and dragging to desktop. That way I can read offline. The last link is the relevant article of a 3 part series for photographers.

http://www.thevgroove.com/art-business-reproduction-printing-definitions
http://www.thevgroove.com/transferring-files-your-print-service-provider
http://www.thevgroove.com/
http://www.orisonsart.com/Giclee-Fine-Art-Reproduction.html
http://www.articlealley.com/article_593595_32.html
http://picturephotosoncanvas.com/?p=93
http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/graphicarts/archive/2008/07/25/fine-art-reproduction-part-2-what-you-need-to-get-started.aspx

Posted by Catinka Knoth at 2:17 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 1 October 2008 2:20 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Here are my demonstration  drawings from recent class:

Fox and skunk

Bear and bees.

Moose.

White-tailed Deer.

Posted by Catinka Knoth at 3:57 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 17 September 2008 3:28 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Press Release:

Rockland, Maine - Children, and those young at heart, are invited to explore farming, harvest, and fall themes in this fall's ongoing  drawing classes led by Catinka Knoth at Rockland Public Library, 80 Union St.

The "Let's Draw Together!" sessions are geared for ages 6 and up,  adults welcome. Children 10 and under should be accompanied by an adult.  Classes meet every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. in the Friends Community Room. The workshops, sponsored by the Wellin Family Foundation, are free and open to the public, with all materials provided. 

Participants draw along with Knoth, who is known for her watercolors of Maine scenes and animal drawings and also gives watercolor workshops. Her work may be seen at catinkacards.com.

For more information, call Jean Young, children's librarian, at 207-594-0310.

Themes for September and October are:
09/02    "Let's draw Monarch butterflies & butterflies!"
09/09    "Let's draw farm scenes of haying and the fall harvest!"
09/16    "Let's draw cows, pigs, sheep!"
09/23    "Let's draw chickens, roosters, geese, and ducks!"
09/30    "Let's draw a visit to the apple orchard and apple picking!"

10/07    "Let's draw a visit to the pumpkin farm with scarecrows and hayrides!"
10/14    "Let's draw autumn  leaves and trees, and squirrels and chipmunks     gathering nuts!"
10/21    "Let's draw owls, bats, Halloween cats, and Jack-O-Lanterns!"
10/28    "Let's draw witches, goblins, and a spooky Halloween!"

Posted by Catinka Knoth at 10:09 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 25 August 2008 10:49 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink