Craig Antrim: Artist Outreach Program

We know that offering great information is just as important as offering great products. The Winsor & Newton Artist Outreach Program consists of a select team of skilled artists, most of whom are college professors, who visit colleges and stores to offer dynamic, entertaining, and highly informative programs about using artists’ materials to the very best advantage.

	Craig Antrim

We thought it would be fun to gain some insights into what makes each of our artists “tick” by asking them all the same five questions about their art and inspirations. In this issue, we introduce Craig Antrim, who represents the Winsor & Newton Artist Outreach Program in Los Angeles, California.

How did you become part of the Artist Outreach Program and how long have you been a member?

It's a long story, but I used to invite Laurie Hines [the previous Winsor & Newton educational advisor in Los Angeles] to my classroom for demos. When she moved into the head office and a position became available, I indicated that I would be interested in being the new Los Angeles person. It took a while, but in January of 2003, I became a Winsor & Newton Educational Advisor.

Where does your love of art materials come from?

It started when I began to paint in college as I was a pre-med zoology student at the time.  One thing led to another and I became a painting major. I liked chemistry and also playing with materials. As acrylics were relatively new in the early 60's, there wasn't much option for mediums etc., so I experimented.

What are you most inspired by?

The sheer one to one experience of being with great art no matter the medium. I stood in a cave in the Dordogne Valley in southern France in 1984 and as I looked at these magnificent drawings of animals done in a kind of Oilbar material, all of time collapsed into a scintilla and there wasn't any experience of time at all, only the images.

What is your favorite Winsor & Newton product and why?

That's like asking which chocolate you like best. There is no answer!

What is your most memorable experience as a member of the Artist Outreach Program?

Going to London in 2004 to visit the site of all that comes out of Winsor & Newton. Meeting everyone from the top down and those doing the research and hand making the wonderful paint chip charts. The demo of the Series 7 brush maker who whipped up a #14 for us on the spot and then getting a Series 7 #8 brush of our own. I had never owned one before. What a revelation that was to use it for the first time! To experience the care and familial feeling of all those who worked for the company. And we were a part of it as well, helping others appreciate what great art materials can do for you as an artist.

It was also wonderful to be able to see the El Greco, Vuillard, and Philip Guston shows that happened to be in London at the time. My only sadness was that they had closed my favourite traditional London art supply store [unknown] that I had made a pilgrimage to as a student in 1964.
 
Biography

	"Untitled 58/00" acrylic, canvas

Never intending to become an artist, Craig Antrim moved from pre-med zoology to a degree with honors in art in painting and drawing.

After service in Vietnam, he decided to go to Claremont Graduate School for his MFA so that he could teach and paint regularly.

Craig Antrim has exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Korea. Included in the landmark exhibition, “The Spiritual in Art/ Abstract Painting 1890-1985”, his work is documented in ARTODAY, Art in the Eighties, and American Art Now. He has done editions of prints with, Smith Anderson Editions, Magnolia Editions, and Katherine Lincoln Press.

He is represented in the collections of The Getty, LA County Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery, Museum of Modern Art New York City, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Currently Craig lives in San Pedro continuing to paint, exhibit, and teach. Visit his website to see more of his work.

Find out more about the Artist Outreach Programme>