Meeting Notes, May 4, 2017

At today's meeting John, Tom D, Brenda, Kristina, Peggie, Dotty, Geri, Loretta U, Loretta L, Jeanne, Jeanie, Mary, Tedd, Karen, Tim, Joanne, Eugenia,  Eunice, Tom K, Susan, Vicki, Annie, Ward, Lisa (new) and me Celeste.

Today's suggested table topic: books and movies (Art related or not art art related) that have affected you in a positive way.

Celeste: On a practical level, I especially got a lot out of  The War of Art  and also The Four Agreements. A movie that I appreciated was "Dreams" (the van Gogh sequence is special). I like animation;  "The Wind Rises" and "Lion King" are favorites. I'm showing recent paintings.

Jim: I brought Edgar Payne's book (on composition) and Alla Prima II (even though it has a big price tag-- it is worth it). I like the creativity in animation film. I did a workshop with Mike Hernandez --he works for Pixar. Strong clear values are always evident in both his animation and his fine art paintings.

Susan:  I was obsessed with pre-Raphaelites when I was young. I copied them from books. I am interested in a book that is coming out by Joe Paquet. I'm sure it will be my favorite! I wanted to warn you all about a Internet scam that came my way. Don't fall for it! I am showing a recent pastel painting that I did as a demonstration.

Dotty: Two books I'd like to recommend were actually written about writing. "Bird by Bird" is one --it has to do with accomplishing things one step at a time. "Til we have faces" is another book that I like by Madeline Angle. The gist of it is to listen to your own work. I did this pastel recently.

Jeanie: I especially liked a book entitled "The Forger's spell". I have read these art-related books: (most of them are fiction,  based on facts) "Goldfinch" "Paris Red", "Blindspot", "The Painted girls", and the "Miniaturist". I think the Miniaturist was the best. 

Ward: We had this question once before about books and that time about seven or eight people brought the Alla Prima book by Richard Schmid to the meeting. As movies go, my favorite art related movie is "The Red Violin". Each of us has an Aladdin's lamp  ---it's called YouTube! Anything you want to know is spelled out on YouTube! (Laughter)! check out Slo mo:
(a former surgeon who gave up everything to live off the grid and skates) (Laughter)! It's really good. https://youtu.be/Xn87-mcnoVc

Jeanne: My best recommendation is the book "Art and Fear".  It accurately describes all the common obstacles and provides the encouragement to overcome them. I took the Ginsburg workshop and painted this painting with Max Ginsburg represented in it! When Max saw it he said, "What are you painting the old man for"? and I replied "Well, you told me to paint what I see!" (Laughter! Applause!) I want to thank Joanne (Kollman) for making the Ginsburg workshop happen. I would never get to New York for it, so it was really wonderful that he came here. It was so inspirational. 
http://allaprimaportland.blogspot.com/2017/04/max-ginsburg-workshop-at-oregon-society.html

Geri: I appreciate a book by Sally Mann (a photographer) entitled "What Remains". I am intrigued by the amount of hardship people can endure and yet they still make art. I also recommend the movie "Crumb". It is about Crumb the artist. He is famous for the image "Keep on Trucking" back in the 70s. The movie is a testament to what a person can withstand. He had a very difficult life but art transformed him. I am showing a recent painting that I did from the sktchy app.

Lisa: (New! Welcome, Lisa) My favorite movie is "The Mission"--for the cinematography and the score. I like the book "100 years of Solitude"

Loretta L: My favorite movie is perhaps "Dr. Zhivago" I saw it so long ago, but it stuck with me, probably for the drama and the snow. I like foreign films. Any writing by William Wharton is great. I recommend "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. I am showing a recent painting.

Annie: The book that is on my nightstand is Moby Dick. It is full of poetic advice. I'll ask Ward to read this for me (because his voice projects more than mine)! (see photo on front page of the quote). I painted this on glass. I painted it "plein air"--the idea was to hold up the glass and paint the landscape directly on top of it (painting the trees that I saw through the glass)--but I realized that I was painting the trees behind me (because the glass was picking up reflections of the trees behind me)! (Laughter)!

Vicki: this is my favorite book on Hopper. This was ruined for me a little bit when Celeste told me Hopper was an abusive person (Laughter)! (Editors note: sorry) I still like the paintings he painted! This is a book about a German photographer. On television I like a series called "Landscapes through time." It was done by David Dunlap. You can find it on OPB. I am showing a painting I did at Chinook landing. 

Tom D: A movie that comes to mind is "Brother son, sister moon". I saw this a long time ago when it first came out, probably 1969 or 1970. I also recommend the movie Modigliani. In a scene Modigliani asks Renoir "what did you pay for this estate"? Renior held up two fingers and said "two paintings" (laughter)! This is a recent plein air and this is a painting that I did from life with a model.  I just put down paint to see what will happen! That is my way of overcoming fear. I try not to think too much.

Eugenia: My favorite art book is Art and Fear.  I have printed some quotations to pass around. I took a workshop recently with Aimee Erickson and did these color charts. It was a great workshop! I am going back in my mind for happy memories to paint paintings. This is a painting from my memory.

Joanne: I like the book about John Singer Sargent called "Strapless". That book started me down the road to find other books that were similar. (Fiction, but based on facts). I read a book about Soho in the 1980s. I read a thick book about John Adams! I brought this Max Ginsberg retrospective book. The movie "The Mission" is epic. I also liked "The last of the Mohicans". I'll watch "The Godfather" anytime it is on  (Laughter)! I brought paintings from the Max Ginsberg workshop. What I've learned...there is no magic spell to painting well. You just have to practice --you've got to "work it"! (Laughter)!

Tim: This is a book that I don't like at all (Bridgman on Drawing)! but I'll learn from it! (Laughter)! He wants you to drop boxes around parts of the human form to learn how to draw accurately. I brought in An articulated man (a model to draw from). I did these two paintings plein air.

Karen: People have told me that my paintings look like they're from California. I embrace that and I am showing you a book that I like called "Society of six" --it is about California painters. Also one of my favorite books is by Kevin McPherson,  "Fill your paintings with color and light". A deceptively simple title for a very sophisticated and informative book. I bought this book when I was at the plein air convention about Dempwolf. I did not know who he was before I went to the plein air convention. In San Diego I watched a demonstration by Shelby Keefe. I tried to emulate her method to paint this painting of eucalyptus.
https://netmonet.com/html/Book.asp

Tedd: I would recommend the movie "The English patient" It has one thirds, 60/40 everything that you look for in composition in every single frame of the picture. The book that I like is called "Making colors sing". It's about watercolor. It's about placing the right color next to another color to create the best color relationships. When I was at the convention I got to paint with Roos Schuring. She knew who *I* was! ("You do the long paintings"!) I did this painting very early in the morning alongside Roos. I am also showing two recent figure paintings.

Loretta: for books I recommend Don Quixote, Decay of lying and Tedd Goreschner.  The films I like are "landscapes through time"  and "The Tudors".

Kristina: This is my first plein air of the year. And this is a painting I did of a cherry blossom tree. It may sound corny, but my favorite books have been Anne of Green Gables.  Anne came from a kind of run-down dingy environment...but in those books she found beauty in the world around her.  I feel a kinship with that. I find beauty in the world and try to express it in paint. 

Brenda: At the convention we learned about a film called "Loving Vincent". The presenter shared about how this movie was painstakingly put together. The whole convention was great. I was pretty proud of my demonstration! (Congratulations, Brenda). Recently I was at the tulip fields and I did this painting. I am preparing for a plein air event called "Where in the world". 
http://www.whereintheworldispleinair.com

Peggie: I brought in a book about painting techniques of the Masters. I am showing a painting that I did that was a commission. I had to photograph all these cats and place them (in the painting) together on the client's sofa. We had to "coach" these cats to look alert so we employed toys and catnip! (Laughter)! I did small studies and then the final finished big painting. Here is my large cat painting (Applause applause)!

Tom K: (Editor's note: Tom's career has been in film production). I once did an impression of Robert DeNiro ...and then it was pointed out to me that Robert DeNiro was sitting directly behind me. (Laughter)! (The line I used was from "The Mission"). Because of the topic today (movies) I brought these.  This is a drawing that was done during the movie for the movie "The Stepford Wives" (of Catherine Ross). It was done by an artist named Don Barcardy.  This painting is from another movie that is based on the book "The girl in hyacinth blue". (It was painted by Jonathan Janson) There were eight of these paintings made because the painting had to be shown in several different stages. This was accomplished by photographing and printing the original art and then applying paint over the top of the photo/print. I had a compliment paid to me during the shooting of "Prizzi's Honor"...(Because of my art education) I knew who had designed the bridge we were shooting (and why what they were asking for was impossible) -- Director (John Huston) said: "That's why he is here".   I am a big fan of the book "Art and fear".

John: I read a lot of fiction. I also recently acquired the Max Ginsburg book. I was talking to my granddaughter recently and she told me that she was reading the novel "1984" in school. I said oh, I read 1984 in 1963. She said "WHAT???" (Laughter)! As far as movies go, I like any John Wayne movie. I guess I admire the fact that there is always a positive message in each one. But, my favorite current movie is Kung Fu Panda. (Laughter)!

Mary: I read "the Girl in Hyacinth Blue"! My daughter went on a trip to Cuba and she shared these paintings with me (on iPad) ....they look like paintings, but they are mixed media, done with strips of photographs.

Eunice: If you get onto youTube you might surface three hours later (laughter)! The movie "She wore a yellow ribbon" would be great to paint from. Any book about Rembrandt seems worthwhile...to me, he is the best.

Announcements:

Life painting at OSA Friday 1-4pm (open session/Joanne Kollman) Model is Catherine
http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com/classes-and-workshops/classes

Medley Tea is accepting applications to show work. Email Kathleen zornbird@aol.com

Brenda Boylan workshops (in oil and pastel) July, August and Sept 2017
https://brendaboylan.com/workshops

Brenda Boylan
GBD Architects
reception June
https://brendaboylan.com/event/91670/gbd-architects-solo-showing

submit to the Beaverton Arts Mix (thanks for the info, Ward)
https://cityofbeaverton.submittable.com/submit

Peggie Moje' at Portland Rental Gallery Friday May 19th reception
https://rentalsalesgallery.com/events/

Jeanne Chamberlain solo show! (Applause) Reception: Friday May 5 Multnomah Arts Center

Ward Jene Stroud will host a party at his business June 1st. 409 NW 21st (stay tuned for time)

Ward's classes continue every Friday
http://oregonsocietyofartists.com/classes-and-workshops/classes

Susan Kuznitsky new classes:
http://oregonsocietyofartists.com/classes-and-workshops/classes

Scott Johnson at Village Frame/Gallery Friday May 5 reception
http://www.villageframeandgallery.com/blog/scott-johnson-exhibit-opens-first-friday-may-5th/
'
Village Gallery Art Challenge Fund Raiser May 14 reception (Karen Doyle and others):
http://villagegalleryarts.org/art-challenge-show-2017/

Portland Photography Forum and OSA reception, Sunday, May 7, 1-4pm (David Burbach, Eric Brody, Tim Mahoney and others)

The Oregon Art Beat segment about Pacific NW Plein air was aired tonight. See it here:
http://www.opb.org/television/programs/artbeat/episodes/1818/

(A note from Celeste): You know how I always remind everyone to pay their bill at the end of the meeting? Well, someone did NOT pay for their toast and coffee today and guess who got stuck with the bill...ME!! So, if this was you, please catch this up with me next time.

Next Meeting, Thursday, May 11, suggested table topic: PROPS...Bring (or tell us about) some of your favorite props. What objects have you enjoyed painting (and specifically why). Have you painted an object more than once (because it has meaning for you)? To you...what makes a good prop? Let's discuss!


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