Meeting Notes, July 23, 2015

At today's meeting: Tim, Judith, Carrie, Annie, Charlie, Jeanie, Diane, Lisa, Tedd, Eunice, Teresa, Leslie, Jim, Peggie, Kay, Diane H, Loretta, Tom C, Tom Daniels (new!), Thomas Kitts, Kath Axline (new!) and me Celeste. 

Today's suggested table topic:  The color Yellow. Tell us tell us anything you want about the color yellow... likes/dislikes brands/ philosophy etcetera! 

Celeste: Sometimes it is fun to do just take an old painting and glaze with yellow to see what happens. (I brought in an example of this).  I like Utrecht paint. I am not crazy about the W/N water mixable yellow. I like something I read recently about a walking meditation where you say the word "yes" with every step. I think yellow is a yes color!  I brought in a book written by Helen van Wyk. Eric Jacobsen recommended her materials.

Loretta: I like Naples yellow, Indian yellow and all the cadmiums. I don't like lemon yellow. I brought in two paintings that employee yellow. 

Thomas Kitts: I use lemon yellow, cad yellow light and cad yellow medium a lot. I like what you would call the primary yellows. Yellow is easy to pollute. Having opacity is important... but not if you glaze (transparent is necessary to glaze). Trying to paint like van Gogh is impossible. They don't make the same chrome yellow that they made back then now. It is no longer available. I just saw some of his paintings at the Met in New York City last week. The depth that he was able to get is due in large part to how the pigment changed over the years. Completely impossible to replicate, but so inspiring.   Do you know how they used to make Indian yellow? They fed mango leaves to the cows and the cow peed out this color. It is not done anymore. Today certain bright yellows are inspired by the automotive industry. 

Tim: Hansa yellow and yellow ochre are my favorites. I brought into recent plein air paintings. 

Kath (new welcome)! We do printing for artists at my company here in Multnomah Village. I am an artist too. I use wax and acrylic. I often paint in stages and  in layers. 

Judith:  I am painting a painting a day. I brought in three paintings. I know that Amiee Erickson told me once to add a small amount of yellow to white... It will warm your paintings in an all-over way.

Teresa: I brought in a painting of a yellow lab dog in honor of today's topic! 

Diane: There is so much to say about yellow!  I know that I have had trouble mixing my greens. Then I realized which yellows tend towards green and which ones tend toward orange on the color wheel. It's an important issue. I brought in the Quiller color wheel. It is very helpful because it shows the true complementaries.  I went on the Plein air Sternwheeler river trip with Brooks Hickerson. (This was painting on the deck of the Sternwheeler in a 3 hour trip). The scenery changed so fast....no way I could keep up with it... so I decided to just paint fast "impressions" of what I saw. I brought two examples of this today and I also brought in a recent painting from the lavender fields. I like how it came out!

Kay: I have been taking drawing lessons at the Portland Art Museum with Eduardo Fernandez. At first when I started all of this and looked at what we had to draw I thought it might all be too stuffy. The recent exhibition is very traditional.  But!! surprisingly, it has turned out to be so much fun. Eduardo has told us to focus on the action and the gestures of what we're looking at. Things like "S curves" and where the weight is are what we are paying attention to. The class is all filled up. It's every Saturday.  I really can't say enough good things about it. I also brought in a book, a collection of drawings.

Peggie: What can I say about call about the color yellow? It's important to pay attention to the cools and warms of yellow. You guys all know that. (Laughter)!  I brought in a painting: Meadow of Lavender. Also, I brought in a painting that I did of a tractor that is so unique. It is British-made. It has a flat tire and the owner told me that it would be a thousand dollars to replace the tire. I liked the tractor so much.... I actually started considering finding ways to raise money to get it a new tire!  (Laughter)!

Carrie: I was on the Plein air Sternwheeler trip too.  It was a great escape from the heat. If you want to see photographs of the trip you can find them on the OSA blog. In watercolor yellow is so easily contaminated. I "mark" my palette with indicators about which is warm and which is cool. Naples yellow is quite useful in watercolor for "covering up" a mistake. 
I have read that if you were wearing yellow you might be chosen for a jury! It has been determined that people who wear yellow are good decision-makers. (So make use of this information if you want to get on or off of jury duty)! (Laughter)!

http://oregonsocietyofartists.blogspot.com

Tom Daniels (new! welcome)! I get the professional artist level paint instead of any student grade paints. I never use any kind of yellow out of the tube. I always mix. I don't use a lot of yellow. I am more of an ochre guy! I am bringing in a still life painting that I did alla prima. 

Jim: I also don't use a lot of yellow. I think the landscape painters use a lot more yellow than I would. I focus a lot on portrait, so I am using more ochre than yellow. When I do use yellow I use hansa and cadmium medium yellow. Jennifer Diehl likes Indian yellow. I will be taking her color class. Maybe when I take her class she will show me how to use Indian yellow. I don't know yet. I am showing a new painting I did from my photo references of the Tilbury event.  I used a thalo green underpainting. You can see the thalo coming through. You may remember in this series with this same lady I always put her in front of these white flowers. The other paintings are more happy. This time I have her as if she has been picking apples...and the flowers are added in in almost a "melancholy" way. 

Leslie: Two weeks ago I didn't know what the "Zorn palette" was....but here is a painting that I just did plein air with the Zorn palette! I was very surprised how many different kinds of green I got from this palette.  I was talking recently with some artists from this group. They told me about a time they painted a Canola field. That has got to be the brightest yellow you can possibly find! I can't even imagine.  One of these artists told me that a gallery told them that yellow landscapes "don't sell"! (Laughter)! I don't know if that dissuades anyone from doing yellow landscapes...but that's the word. (Laughter)! 

Annie: I appreciate this group so much because I will think back over the week and think about something that someone has said. Some helpful thing! (Editor's note: we like you right back, Annie!)  I have been working on my house. I'm trying to restore order. I recently unearthed a couch (by getting rid of what was stacked on it) (Laughter)! I am showing you paintings that I have done from the interior of my house. I'll continue working on interiors until I finish my project. 

Charlie: I use ochre mostly.  I have read that yellow is very eye-catching. I'm showing you an example of this. (photograph). Yellow is so "eye-catching" they use it for school buses. I have read that jurors like eye-catching things... so perhaps (if you want to win a ribbon or prize) you might consider placing yellow next to your focal point in your painting! (The eye goes right to it)!

Jeanie: Yes I use yellow and I like yellow. I have done a lot of glazing so I have used yellow a lot. 

Diane: When I was in the fourth grade I got to see a van Gogh exhibit. It really lit a match in my heart! I am a Dutch person so, of course, I was really happy to learn that van Gogh was Dutch too. I remember as a child thinking I don't want to paint this intensely or I'll go crazy like he did (Laughter)! In portraiture I am aware of the important differences between painting from life and painting from a photo. I have had to paint from a photo (for what I am showing you) but I'm using everything I have learned from painting from life in this effort. I also took classes with Eduardo Fernandez and I remember what he did say about gesture and attitude. I tried to get something across here with her hands and her hair.  Old Holland makes a beautiful Naples yellow. 

Lisa: I have mostly yellows in my paint collection. The reason is because I have taken a lot of workshops. Every time I've gotten a materials list there is yet a different yellow on it! (Laughter)! I do like Indian yellow with white. It's just a tiny amount that you add to it and it will make your Titanium white warm instead of blue/chalky. It is a very small amount! I brought in a painting that I've done for a state park show in Corvallis. It turned out to be a high key.  I also brought in a small alla prima still life. 

Tedd: Lately I have liked Naples yellow. I used to use a lot of Indian yellow. I have been using cadmium chartreuse as yellow! It makes wonderful colors.  At the coast last weekend I painted this panorama that I am showing you. My easel fell over TWICE because of the wind.  It's alright though.... not real harm done..inconvenient, but no real disaster.

Eunice: Well, I have six yellows on my palette! (Laughter)!  It's true, I really do. My very favorite yellow that I really love is called chrome yellow. I started using this after Tim loaned me an Edward Seago DVD. I have also been working on my house and it has kept me from painting recently. I'll get back to it soon!

Tom Clark: I don't know if it is true or rumor but I have read that van Gogh may have had some sort of affliction with his eyesight where he saw things as "extra yellow". I don't know if this is true or not but it's interesting to think about that. I have used Indian yellow for glazing.... but since becoming an alla prima painter I don't use it now.  I know this, if you want to paint an ocean wave (you know, the rise of the wave that is so green- transparent) you should not use the cadmiums.  Hansa yellow is a far better choice. I am showing a painting I did recently near Lewis River.

Kay brought in a "door prize". "Who knows what gum Arabic is used for"? Carrie knew the answer and so Carrie was awarded a bottle of gum Arabic (laughter)! 

Announcements:

The sternwheeler event was filmed by Grant Mcomie. (I can't find out when it will be aired, but here is his website): http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/grants-getaways/

Celeste Bergin is at the Lane Gallery through September:
http://www.lanegallerypdx.com

Kath is in charge of the Doll Gardner gallery. Right now Vicki McArdler and Rebecca Owens are showing there. They're work can be viewed on any Sunday. 
http://www.whuuf.net/node/2561

Thomas Kitts has a show at Rieser Fine Art in Carmel. Reception August 8th. Congratulations, Thomas!
http://www.rieserfineart.com/thomas-kitts-aug-1-sept-30-2015/

His recent interview with Fine Art Connoisseur:
http://www.fineartconnoisseur.com/pages/21754775.php?utm_source=Art+List&utm_campaign=80e2bae230-FAT_A_7_16_157_16_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6907cc7961-80e2bae230-232098765

His workshop in Tuscany:
http://www.thomaskitts.com/p/international-workshops.html

Pacific Northwest Plein Air starts in two weeks follow the blog and Facebook:
http://pleinairhoodriver.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/pnwpleinair

Brenda Boylan/ Mitch Baird/ Aimee Erickson and others painting in the Door County plein air event: 
http://www.doorcountypleinair.com
https://www.facebook.com/PeninsulaSchoolofArt?fref=ts


Erik Sandgren's coastal paint out continues  No fee…tons of fun!

Don Bishop offers workshops on Saturdays
Also upcoming workshops with Jennifer Diehl, Ria Krishnan and others:

Art splash is this weekend. Celeste Bergin is the juror
http://www.ci.tualatin.or.us/recreation/artsplash-art-show-and-sale

The friends of easels meets on Mondays in the gorge. You can always just show up with them.
For more announcements/events/groups/paint outs: our facebook page:
If you have sketched with us at Medley tea (or will sketch at Medley between now and August 1) we have a show coming up there. More information to come! See results from today here: https://picasaweb.google.com/103423620849168017992/TheThursdayDrawingClubJuly232015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Thank you all for coming and sharing your ideas and paintings today!

Next meeting July 30 suggested table topic: "Blocking in"! What do you know about it? what is your process?

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