Marie-Claire Beckx

Welcome to Beckx Art

Born and raised in Brussels, the European City of Culture, I came into contact with art at an early age. My ancestors were either painters or musicians. Thus, painting and music have naturally aroused my interest and imagination. As a child and an adolescent, my attempts at painting were limited to sketches, water colours and charcoal drawings. Later, I started doing caricatures of business people. Art museums in many European cities are for me a constant source of inspiration and new ideas. My passion is Eastern painting. In 2004 I found enough spare time to start learning the technique of Chinese painting and Chinese calligraphy. First with Ursula Molle at the VHS Wedel in Wedel, afterwards with Xiaomin Liu and  Grand Master Chen Xiowang I could improve my technique. With Manuela Frank in Allgäu, South Germany, I have improved my technique of watercolouring. In 2011 I learned new techniques with Christine Ruge. My paintings have been exhibited, among others, at the Wu Wei Tai Chi Academy in Hamburg-Othmarschen and during the RISSEN ART.

BECKX ART AUSSTELLUNGEN  

Have a look at my picture galleries:

 

 

 
 
   

 

Techniques

 

AQUARELLE OR WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

Aquarelle painting was invented very early and is considered to be one of the oldest forms of painting. It is made from watercolours which are usually transparent. It appears luminous because the pigments are laid down in a relatively pure form with few fillers obscuring the pigment colours. Typically, aquarelle style comprises of washed-out and blurred contours as well as a mix between transparent and stronger colours. When painting aquarelle, it is typical to start with the brightest colour first. Darker colours are used level by level, from a very bright shade to the darkest. The reason for this is that darker colours can’t be raised to a brighter hue once applied to paper.

Several techniques for aquarelle painting have been developed in the past. The most popular being the wet on wet technique. The surface of the drawing paper is ‘washed’ first and the colour directly added onto the wet surface. As the colours start blending a typical aquaralle effect is created.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor_painting

 

MONOTYPE

There are three main methods for making a monotype:

  • The additive or light-field method, in which the image is painted by adding or building up pigment onto the plate
  • The subtractive or dark-field method where the entire plate is covered with a thin layer of pigment, which the artist then works out his image by removing some of the pigment with brushes, rags, sticks, or other tools.
  • The third method is a combination of the two.

WHAT IS A MONOTYPE?

It’s a printing process where the artist doesn’t have to worry about all of the “technical” aspects of printmaking and can instead concentrate on being creative. Energy, improvisation, gesture, impulse and chance are all characteristics of this printing process. It is the most “painterly” and immediately rewarding technique available for creating works on paper.

Monotypes are usually made by either painting or rolling inks onto a flat surface. This flat surface can be glass, Plexiglas, or sheet metal (etching plate). With the application of pressure the image will transfer onto the paper. Pressure can be the use of an etching or litho press, or hand pressure with a Pinpress, barren or any other means that will exert enough pressure to make the image transfer.

The ink used in a monotype can be applied with a brush, rag or rolled up with a roller or brayer. During the printing process depending on the method of application and the thickness and texture of the ink, the ink may spread and blur as it is blotted or absorbed by the paper. Usually the paper is placed on top of the plate used and the transferred image is a mirror image of the original. How the ink is applied and manipulated with all of its individual characteristics will be reflected in the print, which is what makes monotypes so unique.

 

INK WASH OR BRUSH PAINTING

Ink wash painting illustrates the movement of time and space and its rules are very subtle. Brush painting in East Asia, no matter if calligraphy or representations, is an art which has an ancient tradition of practice and apprenticeship. Ink wash paintings are based on the shapes of lines. The main features are the sweep, the speed and the pressure of the brush strokes. The brush is used as a delicate instrument which gives the brush handling a special quality.

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink_wash_painting

Back to top

 

Painters

1. Chinese ink painting & chinese calligraphy:

a) Grand Master Chen Xiaowang: http://www.chenxiaowang.com/
b) Fabienne Verdier: http://www.fabienneverdier.com/
c) Xiaomin Liu: http://www.stumpfeldt.de/hcn.nf/0109A20092007.pdf

 

2. Chinese martial arts:

a) Tai Chi: http://www.wuweiweb.de/seminare/vorträge/
b) Qi Gong: http://www.qigong-hamburg.com/

3. Design & calligraphy: www.bauer-kalligrafie.de
4. Art therapist and painter: http://christineruge.de
5. Occidental calligraphy: http://www.kalligrafie.net/

 

Back to top

 

Museums

Palais des Beaux-Arts à Bruxelles: www.bozar.be

Musée du Louvre à Paris: www.louvre.fr

Tate art galleries in London: www.tate.org.uk

National UK museum of applied arts: www.vam.ac.uk

Musées en Italie: www.guiderome.com

Musées d’Espagne: www.spain.info

Art museums in the Netherlands: www.holland.com

Art museums worldwide: www.artcyclopedia.com

 

Back to top