Fine Art Illustration and other projects by Christine Hutson
You know the lady who paints all the lovely witchy kitties? Well, her shop is here:
Shop Watercolor prints by artist Maggie Vandewalle by HijinxedEtc located in Hiawatha, Iowa. Smooth shipping! Has a history of shipping on time with tracking. Speedy replies! Has a history of replying to messages quickly. Rave reviews! Average review rating is 4.8 or higher
Creating complex textures with watercolor.
A layer of buff titanium (which is a dull beige color, but it's a very dense, opaque paint) was painted down and allowed to dry. Then I painted over it with a layer of Daniel Smith's Bloodstone Genuine (this is a jasper mineral paint). Once that was dry, I took a very fine, clean, wet brush, and I "scrubbed" little veins in the bloodstone layer, revealing the lighter color underneath. You have to keep rinsing and rewetting your brush, and you have to blot any excess water off. You need the brush to be just barely damp. And this is how you lift paint. This was used to create several different textures on the two samples.
This can be used to depict bark, bone, shell, stone, or anything you want. And of course you have to experiment to see which colors are good for the first layer, and which ones are good for the top layer. You can also use multiple coats of different colors before lifting, but you have to be very careful when applying subsequent layers, as you can accidentally dissolve the layers underneath before you want to.
If anyone would like formal instruction in manuscript illumination, my online class at the Phipps is open for registration right now.
This is a class where I devote 18 hours over 6 weeks to telling you how to do pretty much everything I know (or as close as I can get in the limited time frame), so this is a game-changer for anyone who wants to do illumination (calligraphy is not taught in this class, however, but it's not necessary to know it either). We cover everything from simple whitevine and Gothic to realistic botanical illumination and modern styles (think William Morris, etc.).
NOTE: All member and nonmember tickets must be reserved in advance, and masks are now optional but recommended. Learn more about how you can join us!
I love Stonehenge paper, I've been buying it since forever, and they're coming out with all sorts of different types now. They have Stonehenge Aqua for us watercolor artists (though I generally still use their heavy printing paper for watercolors, since I use a "dry" watercolor technique most of the time). And now they have a 100% cotton paper for oil painters. I don't know if any of you use oils, but if you do, I will bet this paper is as good as everything else Stonehenge offers.
Artist tested and artist beloved, Stonehenge Oil doesn’t just do what a canvas can do. It allows you to do so much more and to do it without the need for primer or gesso (That’s right: Zero prep required).
Don't forget that the Phipps Conservatory offers online classes, and you can attend from anywhere in the world! They offer culinary, art, and gardening classes.
NOTE: All member and nonmember tickets must be reserved in advance, and masks are required for unvaccinated guests ages 2 and up. Learn more about how you can join us!
Still doing art during the pandemic! They said to stay home, and I'm here with all of these art supplies......
The sequence of limning instruction for my Phipps Conservatory painting class. The image comes from the MIra Calligraphiae Monument (Model Book of Calligraphy), by Joris Hoefnagel, housed at the Getty Museum.
It's not all of my work, but it's an overview of my work from apprentice to professional work.
I have posted my business email in the "About" section of this page for those who have inquiries about artwork. If I find anyone posting spam or other rubbish to my account, you will be blocked immediately. Legitimate art inquiries only. I am not giving out my street address or phone, but the email account works.
Some bat-themed tattoo flash (and one death's-head moth)....
Contact me to buy originals or prints!
I told my Phipps students that I would leave a list of suppliers for dry pigments for artists. So here it is:
http://www.kremerpigments.com (my favorite overall supplier....they have pretty much anything you would need to make your own watercolors or other paints).
http://www.kamapigment.com
http://www.naturalpigments.com
And I have to add, if you decide to make your own paints, please make sure to use safety equipment when handling these dry pigments. Even if they are non-toxic (titanium white, for example), they can still pose a hazard if inhaled, so use a paper mask or respirator (for particulates) to keep yourself safe! With toxic pigments like cadmium, cobalt or chromium, wear disposable gloves too, and don't get the pigment in your mouth, eyes, lungs or on your skin.
247 West 29th Street New York, NY 10001between 7th and 8th Ave. Phone (212) 219-2394 Fax (212) 219-2395 Email [email protected]
Here is a website sent to me just recently. It contains the color index names and other info on the pigments used in artist's paints, inks, and other materials. I hope it's helpful to other artists who might be looking at my page here, I know it will be useful to me.
http://www.artiscreation.com
The Pigment Database is a reference resource for all artists that use color in their art work or craft. It has the Color Index Names, Colour Index Numbers, chemical constitution, safety information (including MSDS), and other information on paints and pigments.
This is a 2x3" illustration of a bald-faced (white-faced) hornet painted on paper from a real hornet's nest made by the same species. The paper is extremely rough and absorbent, so it's very difficult to work on. But it's been mounted to acid-free paper, buffered to correct its pH (wasp paper is totally acidic), and then sealed to make it less fragile before I paint on it. This piece is for sale if anyone is interested, and it's matted and ready to frame.
Here is a locket miniature for sale, painted on vintage sheepskin parchment (c.1879).
Here is what the customer did with her nautilus locket....she made this beautiful chain/necklace to hold it!
A tiny painting of a chambered nautilus inside a sterling locket. The background of the painting is stippled in genuine 23K gold paint, and the image is even smaller than it looks, since the crystal lens on the front of the locket is magnifying the painting.
Here is a commission I did over the Christmas holiday that was quite unusual. The customer requested "mirror" calligraphy, which is lettering done in reverse using the left hand (I normally write and do calligraphy with my right hand). The person who wanted this knew I did this type of work because she had seen a posting of mine on the internet regarding mirror writing. This was the largest piece of mirror calligraphy I had ever done, so it was a challenge, but lots of fun to do too. Because of its size, I couldn't scan it, and had to take a photo, so it's not an ideal image.
Here is a little watercolor portrait I did for a customer in the steampunk community. The image inside the locket is about 1" across, and is of a cute kiwi bird in Victorian clothing. I do custom locket miniatures all of the time, so if you have a commission for me, I can do this. I have access to genuine sterling silver lockets for this type of art too, so you can order a locket in any price range.
Today I got my official invite from the Hunt Botanical Institute to submit art for a show they're having in spring/summer of 2015. And not only do they want a piece of art, but they have said that they "would also like notes about your process and experience while creating a piece". It seems as if that's a long way off, but the deadline for this is not far away at all.
So now it's time to panic.......
Monarch butterfly wants to go home with someone (he's for sale, print or original).
And this was a *new* butterfly when I photographed him, he had just come out of his chrysalis and dried his wings. He was then tagged and released at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Mark Klingler raised the butterfly, he's a scientific illustrator at the museum.
I have been training as a tattoo artist, and I am now paid for my tattoo work. Because I am still gaining experience, the fee is $50/hr (the normal fee at the shop is $100/hr). I also do tattoo design work for those who can't come to Pittsburgh for the actual tattoo. Contact me if you want either design or a tattoo. I am working at Evolver Tattoo Arts on the South Side of Pittsburgh, but you can message me here on Facebook too.
The bluejay feather painting and stag beetle have been spoken for by buyers. Only the snail remains, so please let me know if you would like to buy this cute little mollusk!
Here is a tattoo design that I did for a friend. I did not apply the tattoo myself, I only designed it, and the painting that I made is pictured in the photo. We had to enlarge the image, actually, so that more detail could go into the tattoo, but other than that, the artist worked directly from the painting. The tattoo was done by Cantu, owner of Evolver Tattoo in Pittsburgh, PA.
This is one of my most recent commissions. It is a sterling silver locket with glass on the front and back, containing a miniature watercolor painting (25x22mm) of an octopus on Stonehenge paper. The gold background behind the octopus is genuine 23K watercolor paint, made from powdered gold. I didn't make the silver locket, just the octopus, but I intend to get more of these lockets and sell them with miniature paintings inside.
The Firebird, a creature from Russian fairytales. The blue background *is not* done with a watercolor wash and masking fluid, as it would normally be. It was done with some light wash, but then the deep color was added very carefully, using little brushstrokes and stippling over the whole area; no masking fluid was used here. Some of the light yellow used is praeseodymium, which is a rare earth pigment used in ceramics.
Here is an artist I discovered on BoingBoing......I love his pen sketches, but also the cute squid, animals, etc. It's all brilliant, you should go and take a look at his gallery:
http://matt136.deviantart.com/
Art - community of artists and those devoted to art. Digital art, skin art, themes, wallpaper art, traditional art, photography, poetry / prose. Art prints.
On October 7 between 1-4pm, I will be demonstrating my watercolor painting technique in the gallery of the Hunt Botanical Institute. There will also be another professional illustrator there, Carol Saunders, who does amazing painting and calligraphy and who also teaches at the Phipps Conservatory. This is totally free and open to the public, so I encourage you to come, look at the art in the gallery, and come to see the demo. Info is on this page:
http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu/HIBD/Home/News.shtml
News, events, traveling Exhibition on tour, and recent publications of Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
Pittsburgh, PA
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Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Forbes Avenue
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
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Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology at P
N Highland Avenue
