Spiro Nidelkos: Visual Artist and Photography

From the sketchbook: Part 1

2011-08-07T23:18:00.011+10:00

Time for another update. Here is a small collection of scans from my sketchbook.
All drawn with a 2B graphite pencil in roughly an hour. More to come.

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More updates!

2011-03-27T00:50:00.005+11:00

I must be feeling generous, here are a few more paintings from 2010.

Firstly a portrait of my wife. She's been my inspiration for many years.
Oil on canvas board.

Secondly, my good mate James. Oil on canvas board.

Lastly, some dude. Oil on canvas board.

New Portraits

2011-03-27T00:00:00.007+11:00

We'll not so new, both painted in 2010. Firstly a portrait of Jamie, a fellow designer
that worked with me at Canvas Design Consultants. Oil on canvas board.

Secondly a portrait of my father-in-law Adam.
Great guy, fun to paint. Oil on canvas.

Older Artwork

2009-06-13T18:02:00.020+10:00

Time for a back flip. I was planning on only using this blog as my portfolio, however I have changed my mind. My complete portfolio will be hosted at www.spironidelkos.com and this blog will be a collection of tutorials and miscellaneous art and design articles.
In this post all artwork has been digitally painted in Photoshop. Photo references where used for images two and three. Image four was published way back in issue 112 of Design Graphics Magazine. Stay tuned there is a whole lot more to come.

Portraiture

2008-11-12T10:29:00.006+11:00

Featured above is a new self portrait painted with oils on canvas board.
Portraiture is definitely becoming one on my passions. Plans are on the table to partake in the 2009 Archibald Prize. I'm currently scheduling time to have a few seated painting sessions with my subject.

Visit my website http://www.spironidelkos.com for more artwork.

Past, Present And Future

2008-08-23T07:36:00.024+10:00

I'm keeping this post short, as I've just returned from overseas and have a load of unpacking and laundry to do. But I wanted to keep you all updated on my activities recently, and my plans for the near future...

Past
These three portraits were exhibited at the Brunswick Street Gallery in June this year. They are all oil on board, sized 30cm x 30cm: Image 1: 'Smile'; Image 2: 'James'; Image 3: 'Delphi'.
The show was very successful with hundreds of people visiting the gallery space. Following the exhibition, I have been invited by the gallery for a solo exhibition which I will be working on over the next few months.

Present
I have just returned from three weeks in Iceland recharging the creative batteries and looking for new inspiration. I would recommend Iceland to anyone seeking inspiration. The Icelanders are mad about art. The towns are dotted with modern art and sculpture amongst an awe-inspiring natural backdrop of steaming volcanoes and geothermal vents, milky-blue lagoons, deafening waterfalls, iceberg riddled lakes, and vast black sand beaches and lava fields.

Here is an assortment of images from my trip (1. Viti caldera in Askja; 2. Cairns at Laufskalavarda; 3. Rusty ship beached in the Westfjords; 4. Abandoned farm near Hindisvik; 5. Hindisvik; 6. Rusty car; 7. Farmstead near Hof; 8. Sun voyager sculpture in Reykjavik; 9. Icebergs in Jokulsarlon; 10. Church at Saubaer; 11. Fumarole near Lake Myvatn; 12. Gulfoss).

Future
Below is a study for a new graphic style I'm working on. Basically taking life drawing sketches and translating them into an illustrative style. Experimenting is crucial as an artist can stagnate creatively if he or she is constantly painting the same way.

Painting Process: Step 6 - Finishing

2008-04-20T09:30:00.017+10:00

Leonardo da Vinci said "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
In this final stage the main objectives were to check overall tone, and add very fine details and highlights. Potentially this stage of a painting could go on for an eternity. The trap is getting bogged down on details which no longer add any value to the overall image. The details omitted and the areas left unfinished add character to a painting.

The time spent on this stage was four hours. Click here to see the finished painting.

Images from the cast room

2008-04-05T20:15:00.011+11:00

Here is a collection of some great casts found in the Julian Ashton's cast room. Many have been damaged and restored over the 118 years that the school has been running. I find a new angle that inspires me every time I look around the room.

Disaster in the cast room

2008-03-30T07:55:00.021+11:00

The casts found at the Julian Ashton school of art have been inspiring artists for 118 years. I have painted many of them over the last five years; an example being the cast painting shown above. More examples of my cast painting can be found on my website at www.spironidelkos.com.

But recently there has been a tragedy at the school. A very old and expensive cast of the Roman emperor Hadrian was severely damaged. However, the trusty sculpture lecturer Alberto was soon on the case. In a matter of hours he was able to plaster the fragments back together; the result overall being a very scarred and aggressive-looking cast of Hadrian.

In future posts I will upload more photos of the heritage-listed casts, including copies of famous sculptures such as the Venus de Milo.

Painting Process: Step 5 - Refining

2008-03-29T10:18:00.011+11:00

In this step I really got down to business. As I'm painting in stages, I'm working wet paint on dry paint. This is my preferred method as most colours, particularly 'titanium white', dry darker. This means that the entire painting looks murkier and less vibrant, so I noted any regions which need more contrast and began highlighting.

During this stage, I also began to paint some finer details, like the beard, the eyes and the lips. I enjoy refining a painting; slowly chipping away at it and adding more and more details and colour. Bridging tones and hues between shadows and highlights were also focused on. The turning points where a plane changes depth tend to be either cooler or warmer than the colours around that point. Examples of this can be seen on the cheek where the warm ochre meets the mauve, which is cooler and paler.

Again I spent two hours working on this step. As I did not want to divert the attention from the focal points (the eyes, nose and mouth), I deliberately blocked in a very loose background; mixing dark mauves and greens to form abstract shapes. The background colours are quite cool in contrast to the face, helping it lift off the canvas. Even still, I wasn't quite happy with the background. I may change the background the next time I tweak the painting. When I paint, I'm constantly gauging whether the tones, hues and contrast are balanced.

In my next post I will continue tightening the painting ever further.

Painting Process: Step 4 - Block In The Colour

2008-03-29T08:40:00.020+11:00

I began this step of the process by critically looking at the state the image was in. In the previous step I had noted that some of the features needed adjustment. Using some undiluted 'burnt umber' I blocked in and painted over areas, correcting the spacing and size. Once I was happy, I placed some small blobs of yellow ochre, cobalt blue, jet black, titanium white, terre verte, cadmium red and yellow, and alizarin red onto my palette.

Using my under-painting as a guide, my next step was to block in the two base colours found on the subject's face; i.e. a warm yellow ochre and a cool mauve. I fought the temptation to work in too many of the finer details. This can often be a trap for an artist. Painting in layers, and progressively adding more colour and detail with each layer, delivers a far better result. I'm primarily concerned about establishing an accurate and well painted base layer at this point.

As I paint, I frequently take steps back to look at the painting from a distance. I even leave the room and return a few seconds later to stare at the canvas. This all helps reveal areas which need correcting and adjustment.

I tend to use 'terre verte' regularly as a way to cool areas of my paintings; particularly the shadows. Colour theory states that warm colors advance or appear more active in a painting, while cool colors tend to recede. So by cooling my shadows they appear to fall off and add depth to the form.

The overall duration for this step was roughly two hours and fifteen minutes. In my next post I will continue to refine the major features, block in a rough background, and correct any anomalies.

Painting Process - Step 3 - Block In

2008-03-17T23:34:00.004+11:00

I'm lucky to be able to use the cast room at the Julian Ashton's Art School to work on this painting. Julian Ashtons is the oldest art academy in Sydney. It's a great environment and I've always enjoyed spending time there.

This step took roughly two hours. Here is a breakdown:
1. First, I used a wet sponge to apply acrylic burnt umber to the canvas board. It took roughly 15 minutes for it to dry.
2.I then used a thin, synthetic, size 3/16, square-tip brush loaded with oil-based burnt umber to begin sketching in the portrait.
3.As I'm still deciding on the general colour scheme, I've chosen to block in the facial features tonally with the burnt umber first. This still allows me to change any hues if needed and use the burnt umber as a base for the shadows.

As I'm just blocking in, I'm not too fussed about finer details. I can see that I'll have to bring the ear and the left eye down. The nose needs more mass and the lips are not quite right. But that's fine, as I can now refine it further and add more colour.

In my next post I will decide on colours and work more on the form.

Painting Process - Step 2 - Subject Matter

2008-03-16T21:30:00.000+11:00

Deciding what I'll paint can sometimes be a challenge. I find that I ask myself questions like "Am I adding to a series of paintings?", "Am I experimenting" and "Will I sell it, or will I keep it?".

The subject chosen for this tutorial is a photo I took of a statue fragment from Delphi in Greece. The details in this statue are amazing and the facial features are so strong. The idea of painting the portrait of an individual who lived over 2000 years ago is exciting.

I tweaked the levels in Photoshop and pulled out some of the yellow from the photo. I then printed the image out on an A3 sheet and used it as a reference. Correcting the exposure of a photo digitally can really save time.

The composition will be quite basic. I'll crop tightly on the face and position it a bit left of centre. In my next post, I'll begin blocking in the face and background.

Painting Process - Step 1 - Tools Of The Trade

2008-03-14T20:19:00.003+11:00

There are a few standard tools and materials which I feel are essential for painting with oils.
1.A good-sized wooden palette. Some artists prefer disposable paper palettes, however I feel mixing paints on white surfaces can make it too difficult to mix tones and hues. As the image below demonstrates, high contrast backgrounds can effect the way a colour is perceived (i.e. colours look darker on lighter backgrounds, and inversely look lighter on darker backgrounds).

2.Paint mediums. There are various oil paint mediums available on the market. I use linseed oil as an additive to my oil paints when I need to slow down the drying process. It also adds gloss to colours.
3.Solvents. I use odourless solvents to thin my paint as well as cleaning my brushes.
Apparently turpentine is quite toxic so I avoid it. Combining paint, solvent and a bit of linseed oil is great for glazing.
4.A palette knife is a great tool for mixing and applying paint to a surface. As a painting implement, it's great for slapping on and scraping paint to produce interesting results. I've only just started experimenting with palette knives. So far the results are promising.
5.There are a myriad of different brushes on the market: synthetic, sable, hog, filbert, round, square, etc. At the moment I'm mainly using synthetic square and round brushes and a few hog bristle square brushes. I'm very rough on my brushes usually, which tends to wear away the hogs bristles very quickly.
6.Paints. I won't go into brands; there are many and you always get what you pay for. What I will talk about is the basic oil paint palette or range of colours. Every school of art has its own range; some more traditional than others. As a result of my own experimentation, my basic palette consists of ivory black, burnt umber, yellow ochre, raw sienna, cobalt blue, titanium white, cadmium red, cadmium yellow, alizarin red, ultramarine, cerulean blue and terre verte. Of course, I own more colours, but they are not used as frequently.

7.Painting surfaces. Prehistoric man used ground minerals mixed with water and saliva to paint on cave walls. For better or for worse, we can now basically paint on anything that can be tied down for a few minutes. I'm a fan of canvas boards and stretched canvas. It's traditional and not so exciting, but at the moment the surface is not a priority in my art. However, preparing the surface is very important. An acrylic primer should be applied to a non-primed surface to prepare it for the oil paints. If you don't, the paint will bleed into the canvas. The more coats of primer, the less the canvas weave will be noticeable and the smoother the surface.

In my next post I talk about subject choice for a recent painting.

Doctor's Coupe - Step By Step Digital Painting

2008-03-08T12:54:00.007+11:00

Here is another step-by-step progress animation of a vintage vehicle. A photo was used as a reference, and it was entirely painted digitally using Photoshop CS and a Wacom palette.

Murree Man - Step By Step Digital Painting

2008-03-08T11:07:00.017+11:00

Many people have asked to see the step-by-step progress of my artwork. Above is a portrait of an elderly man from Murree (Pakistan).

There are roughly five steps involved in painting, be it digitally or traditionally with a physical brush, canvas and paints.

1. Background wash - usually a colour with the same tone as a mid-grey; e.g., burnt umber.
2. Blocking in - block in basic shapes in mid-range colours. Use this step to balance your composition or resolve any compositional issues.
3. Blocking in low-key colours - add shadows to determine light sources.
4. Refinements - this step will be the longest. Remember to rotate your canvas regularly to check balance as well as squinting and blurring your vision to check tonal ranges.
5. Highlights - this step adds the final zing to an artwork. Show restraint during this step. Excessive highlights make objects look too glossy.

For the above composition a photo reference was used. It was entirely painted digitally using Photoshop CS and a Wacom palette. Click on the image to see the transitions.

Entering Blog Space

2008-03-07T17:11:00.006+11:00

This is an introductory post to this new blog. My name is Spiro Nidelkos. I am an Australian artist and designer. Currently I am the Creative Director of a commercial design studio call Canvas Design Consultants located in Sydney, Australia. A larger collection of my artwork can been viewed at www.spironidelkos.com.
Enjoy the blog.