Authenticity and fairytales

by Petar Meseldzija



For a number of years I have been dreaming of illustrating the Serbian fairytales.  While flipping  through the books on fairytales illustrated by Ivan Bilibin, Arthur Rackham or John Bauer, I would often wonder how to tackle such a challenge. A few years ago I did illustrate one Serbian fairytale for a Norwegian publisher, as a part of the collection of fairytales from all around the world. In fact I was offered to illustrate two fairytales, but due to my busy schedule at that time, I declined the second one and did only the pictures for the shorter tale. I was so eager to do this job that, instead of painting a one page and a half page illustration, which I was commissioned and paid to do, I did a double page and a one page illustration. Unfortunately, the book was never published.



As it is the case with the most of our dreams, if we dream them long enough, they will eventually come through, in one or another form. Last summer a respectable publisher from Serbia with an appropriate name Čarobna knjiga, which means Magic Book, asked me to participate in a major book project on Serbian fairytales.  There are in total 11 illustrators involved in this project, the book will have 224 pages and will be published in Serbia in September this year. No doubt, a major and rather prestigious book, that is intended to set a new standard for that kind of illustrated books, as far as the Serbian market is concerned.



Due to my agreement with the publisher, I am not able to show you the finished paintings (in fact I am still very busy creating them), but I can show you some of the preliminary sketches and studies. 

One of the illustrations from the Norwegian project.

You probably noticed that I did different sketches of the same character, which means that I take this task very seriously and that I am not easily satisfied with the first design. One might say that I search for something that I am apparently not able to struck instantly. The thing I am mostly concerned about at this stage of my work on this particular project is the authenticity and the national character of my designs and paintings.



When it comes to illustrating the national themes, one inevitably has to deal with the historical and ethnological authenticity. The specifics of a certain culture like traditional clothing, architecture, various artifacts, human physiognomy, landscapes, and all other things that have to express the national  aspect of the story in question, suddenly become an important issue. But while it is quite obvious that one has to be as authentic and as accurate as possible in terms of the costumes and props when depicting a specific historic moment , it is something quite different when you deal with fairytales, myths or legends. Although all these stories are mostly a product of fiction, never the less they are firmly rooted in a certain cultural frame. The question I have been asking myself since I have started the work on this book, is how authentic and historically accurate one has to be when dealing with a folk tale, a fairytale. It is clear that a certain doses of authenticity is required, because for instance, a knight from an English legend has to look as a proper English knight, otherwise it has not much sense to call it an English story.  At the same time too much history in the fairytale pictures might kill the magic.

How did a Serbian medieval knight, or prince, looked like? How does his castle looked like, what kind of dress did he wear and what kind of designs decorated his clothes? These are quite normal questions, but the answers are not easy to find. After the mighty Ottoman Turks invaded and gradually conquered medieval  Serbia and almost all of the Balkans at the beginning of 15^th century, the radical and thorough change took place. In the subsequent 5 centuries of the Turkish rule much of the medieval  Serbian culture was lost, destroyed and reshaped on the basis of the conqueror ‘s culture. Apart from some indications in the old manuscripts, the more or less canonized depictions on the frescos in the medieval churches , and the poetic and romantic writings in the old epic poetry, there are virtually no solid indications of what a Serbian prince and his world looked like. Generally speaking the Serbian medieval culture was primarily influenced by the Byzantine culture. But, there are indications that the Serbian rulers have imported clothes and armor from Italy and Hungary. Some Serbian kings had married west European princesses, as well as the princesses from the surrounding kingdoms, who inevitably brought some of the fashion from their native cultures, influencing  to a certain degree the Serbian court.  Besides, it is known that the Emperor Dušan’s  personal guard consisted of the German mercenaries, who were dressed as the western soldiers and knights from that period (see the paintings of Emperor Dušan by Paja Jovanović).  So, when a fairytale starts with: “Long time ago there lived a king who had three sons…”, you know that you have to place the story in the pre-Turkish times and that you have to deal with the insufficiency of the reference material. 

A warrior, fresco from the 13^th century church

But (fortunately there is a “but” here) we are dealing with a fairytale, which in my opinion does not have to be exactly historically accurate in terms of clothing and props (it even sounds a bit silly – a historically accurate fairytale, right?). However  it is necessary to show a sufficient amount of basic elements that would suggest the national character, and to depict the rest as suggestive and imaginative as possible.

As long as we are suggesting or showing the right direction, and as long as we infuse our designs with enough imaginative and evocative material for the reader’s mind to be captured and inspired by, we are on the good road. It is all about pointing the “finger” towards the right symbols and archetypes. Our preconditioned and programed mind would do the rest.



Perhaps a good example of this can be found in the sources of inspiration that I have used while designing my King Marko, the main character from the Legend of Steel Bashaw. Because of the nature of this old tale, it  is obvious that this king comes from the obscured pre-Turkish times and therefore has to reflect something that the imagination of the public will unquestionably relate to the Serbian medieval  noble knight, although as I just said, nobody knows how these knights exactly looked like.

The sources of inspiration I used while designing King Marko were:

-          Blue trousers are inspired by the paintings of Paja Jovanović.

-          The design of his breastplate  was inspired  by the old coins that were found at the archeological location of the Russian city of Novgorod.  

-          King Marko wears a traditional Serbian shoes, that probably did not exist in the middle ages, and if they did exist, a king would surely NOT wear them.

-          He wears a yellow tunic under his armor that comes from the famous Rembrandt’s painting “The Night watch”

-          The general design of his armor is inspired by the relative complexity of the armor of the  Byzantine warriors/knights.

-          Marko’s exaggeratedly long mustache indicate a feature on the man’s face that was so common in the Balkans in the past. My grandfather, for instance, who was born at the end of the 19^th century, for the most of his adult life had a long mustache.  As an old man (he died when he was 96) he looked like an iconic bard from the Serbian epics.

That’s it. Until now, I haven’t heard anybody complaining about King Marko not being authentic enough.



So, my conclusion is that as long as the sum of the details and symbols in our designs and compositions points out towards the right direction and brings the desirable associations and emotions to the surface of the reader’s/spectator’s mind, without damaging the magic, and maintaining and supporting the required illusion (the suspension of disbelief), we are achieving our goal as illustrators of this kind of stories. After all, as illustrators, fantasy illustrators in particular, we are a kind of dream makers. At its best, we help create dreams that make up the foundations of reality.



Dream well.

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Studio Safety Pt. 2 - The Facts About Turpentine

-Dan dos Santos

Now that we know how to avoid the dangers of Solvents, let's discuss WHY we need to. First, some facts, as well as common misconceptions, about the hazards of turpentine.

*************************************************

-Turpentine is made from tree sap.

True.

Turpentine is made from the distilled resin of Pine trees. It is actually all-natural, wether or not it says so on the label.

-Turpentine is cancerous.

False.

Turpentine is TOXIC, and -can- kill you. Even short term exposure can have really bad effects, such as asphyxiation. However, long term exposure has not been proven to cause CANCER.

-Turpentine has health benefits.

True.

Turpentine has long been used as a home remedy for respiratory problems. Still today, Vicks Vaporub contains turpentine.

-Low-odor turpentine is safer that regular turpentine.

False.

Just because you can't smell it, doesn't make it less dangerous. In fact, toxic exposure is -more- likely with low-odor turpentine, because you may be unaware of it's presence. However, Odorless Mineral Spirits (which is a turpentine substitute derived from petroleum), is much less dangerous.

-I need to use turpentine if I want to thin my paint.

False.

Oils paint can be thinned with additional oil.

************************************************

Well... That's the good. So now you may be asking yourself, "If turpentine is all-natural, what's the big deal?" The problem is, even all-natural things can kill you... like bears, and mushrooms, and turpentine.



According to OSHA, The effects of turpentine on humans are as follows:

Turpentine is a skin, eye, mucous membrane, and upper respiratory tract irritant in humans. It may also cause skin sensitization and central nervous system, gastrointestinal, and urinary tract effects.





The lowest estimated oral dose reported to be lethal in humans is 441 mg/kg. Exposure to a 75-ppm concentration for 3 to 5 minutes irritates the nose and throat, and exposure to a 175-ppm concentration irritates the eyes and may be considered intolerable by human volunteers.





Ingestion of turpentine causes a burning pain in the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, excitement, ataxia, confusion, stupor, seizures, fever, and tachycardia and may cause death due to respiratory failure.





Toxic glomerulonephritis and bladder irritation, with hematuria, albuminuria, oliguria, and dysuria, have been associated with overexposure to the vapor of turpentine in the past; however, the more purified form of turpentine now in use appears to have decreased the incidence of or to have eliminated turpentine-induced nephritis.





Splashes of the liquid in the eye produce severe pain and blepharospasm; conjunctival redness and temporary corneal erosion may also occur, but these effects are reversible. Chronic skin exposure to turpentine may produce a hypersensitivity reaction, with bullous dermatitis and/or eczema.





A case-control study of workers in particle-board, plywood, sawmill, and formaldehyde glue factories demonstrated a statistically significant association between chronic exposure (longer than 5 years) to terpenes (the principal component of turpentine) and the development of respiratory tract cancers.

So even though turpentine is pretty darn bad for you, the good news is that you can usually tell that it's doing something bad. If you can identify the problem, it's a lot easier to rectify it.



Now, some people have incredible tolerances for harmful things (me, not so much). It's quite possible that you could work in a studio FILLED with turpentine fumes for a lifetime and never have a problem. It's also quite possible that your Grandmother smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 90 years and lived to be 105. However, many (if not most) people will develop breathing problems, skin rashes and migraines when exposed to turpentine in levels that are quickly achieved when painting with oils in an enclosed room.



So what do you do about it? Well, like Justin said in part 1, you try to minimize the amount of vapor in the air. You can do this two ways:

1. Increase the amount of air.

2. Decrease the amount of vapors.



Personally, my primary approach consists of #2.



I never, ever, ever, paint with an open jar of turpentine in my studio. Not even to clean my brushes. I do however, use a small jar of medium, consisting of equal parts odorless mineral spirits and linseed oil.



(Odorless mineral spirits [also known as OMS] is an alternative solvent, which evaporates slower than turpentine, and is FAR less toxic. However, it is also not as potent a solvent, and therefore cannot be used to dissolve certain resins, like Damar.)



Why the mixture? Oils can be diluted with the addition of other oils, but they can not be dissolved. This is important when dealing with fat and lean layers of paint. Basically, a lean layer has more solvent. A fat layer has more oil. By mixing the two together, I achieve neutrality... a good thing for a painting medium to be.



But the mixture serves an additional benefit. The addition of oil slows the evaporation rate of the mineral spirits. By slowing the evaporation rate, you considerably reduce the amount of harmful vapor in the air. In fact, there are certain mineral spirits, like Gamsol, which are designed to evaporate 4 times slower than regular turpentine.



To clean my brushes, I simple dip them in the medium (without touching the bottom of the jar), and then squeeze out the excess paint with a rag. Anything that doesn't come off from that, is then washed away with plain soap and water.



Here's another way you can reduce the amount of vapor in your studio... Choose the right medium jar.



A large, wide mouthed jar provides a greater surface area by which the turpentine/oms can contact the air. Think of it like leaving the door wide open on a cold day... with zombies outside. By using a smaller, narrow mouthed jar, you greatly reduce the surface area of exposed solvent. Cutting your jar's mouth size in half will literally cut the vapors in half! In the same respect, if you plan on taking a break from your easel for even 5 minutes, cover your medium jar!

The absolute worst thing you could be using to hold turpentine while you work!!!

For me, just by reducing the amount of turpentine vapors in these 2 simple ways, I found that I can work comfortably without any noticeable adverse affects. Large double-doors bring in fresh air when I need it, and that's it.



(Edit: There is now a lot of useful info in the comments section. I guess an additional post is in order!)



Up next... the real killer.

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John Carter

It's great to get a chance to work on stuff that meant much to me when I was a kid.

Dejah Thoris.... How I wanted to be John Carter...and for that matter,  Tarzan, Thor, Hulk, Scalphunter, and probably Earl Cambell....

More soon on this...



-Justin Sweet

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Frank Duveneck Study

-Gregory Manchess







This is the first painting I remember that froze me in place. It’s the piece that caused me to paint the way I do. One of Frank Duveneck’s many fabulous studies, a preparation for some of the more rendered pieces made during his career. He was a virtuoso with the brush, only thirty-one when he painted it.

This face dwells in my head whenever I hold the brush, whenever I lay down the paint, guiding my efforts by reminding me to stay loose and keep details to the essential elements and values.



I’m taken by the deep shadows, and how he’s worked back up from there to the lights, the value range remaining quite close. Duveneck mixed his colors quickly and confidently, most likely not creating piles of pigment ahead of time, but rather mixing on the fly.



The drawing is incorporated by shape and value, giving the face the structure it needs by defining the planes. Notice the ear; even the underpainting stands in for shapes, by contrasting the middle values.

The forearm stays alive by rendering the subtle values across the muscle, leading up to the bicep where the lighter paint captures the light, and subtle flesh folds. The rougher flesh of the fingers gets chiseled strokes, the thin planes of skin grabbing light between the index and middle finger.

The laced fingers here establish a phenomenal range of color value that runs from the nearly imperceptible shadow side, to the few bold strokes of flesh near the knuckles. The wrist is a superb example of brighter colors against muddy colors--ahem--allowing the wrist to just barely make it into the light.



For those students studying how to paint volume, look no further than these hands for learning to cut strokes across the form, not along it.

The older man’s head study is gorgeous. Minimalism at it’s very core. Unfinished and yet providing everything we need to know. It is modern art at this point, exposing the essence of painting that others, in later years, would strive to exemplify in wild passages of sensation. What some would wail about for attention, Duveneck captured honestly, in reality.



When you look close enough, this painting embodies decades of advanced levels of abstract art.

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Studio Safety Pt. 1 - Ventilation

-By Justin Gerard

In this article we are going to cover proper studio ventilation for the artist, with a focus on dealing with solvents. We will cover the various options for setting up a studio, and a few options you can use if no ventilation is possible. 

Almost all illustrators working in oil use solvents.  They are used for a wide variety of tasks: mixing, thinning, dissolving and cleaning paint as well as for making mediums, varnishes and so on.  If you work in oil, you will likely be using them at some point.  

Painters have been getting debilitating illnesses from solvents ever since they came into widespread use in the 1700's. 

What are the hazards of inhaling solvent fumes?

Initially, exposure to high concentrations of fumes result in forms of temporary narcosis, (dizziness, fatigue, loss of coordination, nausea).

But it is the slow, unnoticeable build-up of harmful chemicals within the body over time that is the true danger of solvents.

Long term exposure can lead to more aggravating conditions that are sometimes irreversible and sometimes fatal: Contact dermatitis, respiratory system damage, kidney and bladder disease, as well as chronic brain and nervous system damage. (Yes, I said, permanent brain damage. And yes, I have worked a great deal with solvents in the past.  This may confirm some of our reader's suspicions about me.) 

Many famous artists in the past have fallen victim to illnesses acquired from the use and over-use of solvents. Their lives irreversibly damaged from it. There is no reason that with the knowledge and tools available to us now that we shouldn't be able to take sufficient steps to safeguard ourselves and our loved ones from any such fate.  

The first step is always to know the dangers of the materials you are working with and limit how much of them you are allowing into the air. 

If you are pumping too much of a chemical into the air then you will encounter problems no matter how good your ventilation is.  According to environmental hygienists, studio air should be replaced 10 times every hour. (Though some experts say that anywhere from 6 to 10 is permissible with 10 being the gold standard.) 

The Studio Environment

The Basics:

Choose a studio space that has windows that you can open, and if possible, that has more than one window. In general, the larger and more open the room the better.  This will help prevent extreme concentrations from developing in the air. Even with good ventilation, a closet may kill you.  

If you ever begin to feel light-headed or nauseous, leave the room, go outside and get fresh air.  Your studio is not properly ventilated and you need to reconsider either your materials, your method of using your materials or your ventilation system. 

Always consider other people who work in or around your studio space, and wether your setup is going to adversely affect them.  

There are 2 types of Ventilation: Dilution Ventilation and Local Exhaust Ventilation.

Dilution Ventilation does not eliminate the harmful elements and vapors from the air. Instead it attempts to lower their concentration by bringing in clean air to dilute the contaminated air.  

Local Exhaust Ventilation attempts to trap the fumes and airborne elements at their source, before they can enter the air, and then vent them outside and away from the studio. 

With that, I will discuss some options for studio ventilation that employ one of these 2 methods of cleaning the air.  

OPTION 1: An open door or window.

(Dilution Ventilation)

While this is a good start, it is not adequate to effectively dilute harmful elements from the average studio space. A single open window or door does not provide sufficient pressure to move or circulate air, so while there is new clean air coming in, or some of the contaminated air may be going out, there is not enough air replacement to prevent exposure.

You need to find a way of getting fresh air into a room, and the exposed air out. Which brings us to:

OPTION 2: Open a second window and place a box fan in it.

(Local Exhaust Ventilation)

Opening more than one window provides a route for air to flow through a room.  But this alone may not move the air fast enough in the studio to prevent a harmful concentration of chemicals from lingering long enough to hurt you or contribute to a long-term build-up that will be harmful down the road.  

In one of your open windows, place a box fan facing out. This will act to pull air through the studio from the other open window and out again through the window with the box fan.  This will refresh the air more effectively than just a single open window.  

See below:

A few rules to follow when using this:

-Never vent into another room in the house. Always vent the contaminated air OUTSIDE.

-Always have sufficient (equal) clean air to replace the contaminated air you are removing. (If you have a fan in a window, always have another window of equal size open.)

-Do not recirculate any of the exhausted air back into the studio. (The windows shouldn't be directly beside each other.)

-If you are using materials that are highly flammable, make sure your fans have spark-proof motors and fan blades.

OPTION 3: Simple Continuous Ventilation system.

(Local Exhaust Ventilation)

While option 2 has been an effective solution for my own studio, it may not be practical for everyone.  Some people live in climates that do not allow for this, or do not have access to 2 windows.  

For a studio whose location precludes Option 2, a simple ventilation system may be a suitable alternative.  And installing one may not be as terribly expensive or as time consuming as you might expect. Depending on the amount of air that needs moved, it may only require some 6" HVAC ductwork and a 6" duct fan from the local hardware store. 

Bquin from the wetcanvas.com forums shows his setup here. The fan captures the harmful vapors at their source, and forces them out and away from the studio.  

OPTION 4: Local Exhaust Ventilation

The hood.  This is in essence, an industrial-sized version of the ventilation system seen above.  You probably remember seeing one of these back at your school science lab.  Local exhaust ventilation captures harmful elements at the source by the use of an overhead hood.  It then transfers them directly outside through a duct system.

This is the ideal and most comprehensive solution… if you have piles and piles of cash lying around. They can be very expensive and difficult to install in the average studio space. But they are very effective at removing harmful elements from the air.  

Here again, it is necessary to have a secondary source for replacing the air that is being vented outside. With some of these it may only require an open window.  For others it may require an air or heat transfer system.  

OPTION 5: Air filter and Purifiers

(Dilution Ventilation)

Air purifiers take the exposed air in a studio and pass it through a filter, which captures much of the harmful material, and then releases the cleaned air back into the studio. While purifiers can help significantly reduce the amount of harmful materials in the air, they cannot completely eliminate the hazardous elements. Most of the models made for homes are excellent at servicing small jobs, but lack the power to handle larger projects. 

My Austin Healthmate Jr. can exchange the air in my studio space almost 5 times per hour, just shy of the minimum recommended 6, and half the hoped-for 10. 

-If you purchase an air filter, charcoal and active carbon are the best. A good activated-carbon HEPA air filter, such as the Austin Healthmate, costs about $600 with replacement filters priced at about $200.

OPTION 6: A Respirator Mask

(Wait, wear a gas mask?  …Sure, I'll get right on that.)

A respirator mask is the absolute last line of defense, used only when all else has failed.  If you cannot otherwise properly ventilate your studio, or you are deathly allergic to even a trace of the chemicals you are working with, then this would be something to consider.  But if it looks like the job will require a mask, you really need to ask yourself if it is worth it.  

There are artists who do work with masks and if you find that you have no other choice, then there are good ones available. Make sure the mask you purchase is OSHA or NIOSH approved and that it has an organic vapor filter cartridge.  (Simple cotton filters will not suffice.)

Always consider the health of the other people in or near your work environment who are not wearing respirator masks.

OPTION 7: Place a tiny little fan beside you that gently blows the air away from your face.

(False)

This option does not work at all. It merely stirs the air up, but does nothing to either dilute or replace the air in the room.  The concentration remains. However, many people still seem to use it and believe that it works. They may tell you that it is a genius idea that Leonardo Da Vinci invented and that it makes you totally safe from everything. Do not heed their words. In that way lies destruction. 

IN CONCLUSION... 

If you are going to use solvents, you need to consider studio ventilation.  For your immediate comfort, your long term health, and the health and comfort of those who live and share a space with you.  

***Note!***

This ventilation described above is for dealing with vapors only. It is not sufficient if you are dealing with particulates (as with airbrushing or grinding paints). Be sure to research everything about all of the tools and paints you intend to use before setting up your own studio ventilation system. 

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Phil Hale Interview

-By John Jude Palencar

There is a Phil Hale interview over at Sidebar Nation. Phil is one of my favorite illustrators and now an emerging force in the fine arts. Sidebar was started by two crazy art dudes, Swain and Dwight... think of Garth and Wayne from Wayne’s World but with art.



Phil Hale Interview link  (Downloadable MP3 link on this page)



Addendum page with Phil's work

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Boskone

If you're in Boston this weekend, take the opportunity to see Dan Dos Santos in his role as Artist Guest of Honor at Boskone. I have it on pretty good authority that our Fellow Muddy Gregory Manchess and the effervescent Irene Gallo will be present as well...

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