The term soft painting might confuse many people because of its different aspects. However, there are some interesting features of soft painting because it is still relatively new to the art world. It was founded by Calman Shemi and has created a lot of original art that people have been enjoying worldwide.
To find out more about soft painting, continue reading down below.
What Is Soft Painting?
Soft painting is a newer technique to have come out recently. It has brought a brand-new way to create original artwork. Soft paintings are made with the soft art technique by Arntova’s artists.
People who use the soft painting technique use synthetic acrylic fibers in many different shades. They also substitute water or oil-based colors for these synthetic acrylics. They then make shapes with these fibers that consist of felt and different colored string to paint these materials.
Artists put down their brushes and use a needle to hook the materials to the canvas, which is either burlap or synthetic felt. The artist is then left with the needle to paint their work using strings instead of a pencil.
How Do You Make a Painting Look Soft?
The trick to making a painting look soft is all in the needle. After the artist has created their artwork with the thick layers of fibers, a special punch is involved with 14,000 needles. These needles help to work the threads into the fabric underneath it, so it can no longer move or be changed. Also, the punching of the needles gives a new layer or shading and look onto it, which gives it a softer look.
Ultimately, the technique of using the fibers, the right colors, pressing needles, and additional transparencies allows for a unique look to any other form of artwork out there. That is how these paintings look soft. The artists need to be skilled and knowledgeable in all aspects to get this desired result.
About Calman Shemi
Calman Shemi was born in Argentina. He has become known for his soft paintings. His artwork is composed of textiles that have been organized in a collage with a needle technique. Over the years, Shemi has sewn every piece into a tapestry, which has now created beautiful works of art.
Shemi has been known to see the world differently and continues to describe it with his different art pieces. He has created work with a kaleidoscope of luminance and pigmentation through unique expressions. Today, his work inspires other artists to explore their artwork in different ways with his illustrations in soft painting.
He has said that he has gotten inspiration from his family, children on the street, books, and films. Also, he mentioned that his muse consists of millions of different influences that have meshed together to create something beautiful.
Shemi was born in 1939 and studied under Rudi Lehmann and Libero Badii at the School of Sculpture and Ceramics in Mendoza. He gives a lot of credit to Badii for teaching him the principles of sculptures and artwork. However, he also credits him for showing how humans and philosophy have connected over the years.
Years continued to pass him by as he learned different mediums to express himself. That is also where he discovered lacquer paintings and window paintings. All of his lacquer paintings have been made with vibrant colors on metal or wood panels, and he’s added some gold or silver leaf to them.
With this knowledge of how to create Soft Paintings, he has been able to create pieces of art that will be hung up around the globe for centuries. Today, his work can be found in Chicago at the Chicago Fashion Institute.
His most famous pieces of work are from the Spertus Museum of Judaica collection.
Conclusion
Soft painting is a beautiful way to create art without a paintbrush. Artists like Calman Shemi have mastered this medium and have created art pieces where you don’t know where one piece ends and the other begins.
It is always fascinating to see new mediums being brought into institutions worldwide, so people can continue to make unique artwork. Calman Shemi has shown how beautiful, mesmerizing, and breathtaking painting with just a needle and some fibers is. Take a look at Calman Shemi’s paintings collection and get inspired!
