Meeting Notes, August 4, 2016

At today’s meeting, Carrie, Tim, Bill, Ward, Joanne K, Joanne T, Jeanne, Tom D, Annie, Anna, Eunice, Loretta U, Loretta L, Dotty, Bill, Kristina, Tom K, Charlie, Tracie and me, Celeste.

Suggested topic: Balancing neutrals with color ---tell us what you know about it.

Celeste: When I was in graphic design classes I remember we did a poster project with a kite as the subject matter. I made my kite so colorful --there was no“relief” from it, there were no neutrals to set off all those colors. I have learned over the ensuing years that having neutrals with color is more effective.  I like this passage I read in a watercolor book about how colors are like jewels and how they should be placed as carefully as a precious gem in a setting. You need quiet colors in your paintings that will make the colors stand out.

Loretta U: When I mix grays (neutrals) I often use burnt sienna with ultramarine blue or Alizarin Crimson and Viridian. I have read that if you add more colors to three colors it will “sully” your mixture.

Carrie: All neutrals have a temperature. You need to be aware of what temperature(s) will support your painting.

 Tim: I don’t believe in grays.  (Laughter)! I have brought in a “pin up” She is NUDE. (editor’s note:—Tim turns his painting around to reveal that it is a big cow). (Laughter)! I have also brought in two recent miniature painitngs.

Bill: I noticed my neighbor was doing some work on his house. There was a great contrast between what he wore and the neutral color of the the wall. I took a photo of it and painted the scene. I am also showing a plein air and a recent double portrait that is in progress.

Tom K: I remember from last week that Ward got a great reaction from showing a painting of an Elephant. Many years ago I was in Kenya working on a film. I got to meet the elephant Ahmed. He was the worlds oldest elephant --he was 78 years old then. He was considered Kenya's national treasure. During this time the actor John Houston came to Kenya for a Safari. It was our job to try to find Ahmed to show to John Houston (not to shoot him, just to show him). We filmed all this but John Houston had to return without seeing Ahmed. Ahmed came around the very next day!  I’m also showing you this picture of myself during these years just to prove to you that I was once young (Laughter)!
https://thegamesendnovel.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/ahmed-the-elephant-2/

Ward: This is why I come to these meetings ---to hear really interesting stories like that! I haven't thought too much about neutrals, but now I will. I like to come here --it charges me up. I think this neutral thing could be likened to music. If you give some people a solo they are so excited about it and they will cram too many notes into the solo and the next thing you know it’s not very good. But a musician like BB King can just use a few notes and it says everything he wants to say. That is just a lot like painting.

Loretta L: I get seduced by the bright colors! I’m showing my most recent plein air painting and also another painting of a building with some red trees.

Joanne K: There is a lot of green and gray all around on Sauvie Island! I did this painting there. I often use a gray neutral number six as a base for my portraits (Golden acrylic). Sometimes raw umber and white is good too. I am showing Ted Groeschner's book --  it has a lot of nice information about the different grays that he uses. It’s good to use a red filter when you’re outside to see the values.

Suzanne: All of my painting seem to have quite a few neutrals in them. I think I like neutrals. I like to paint out of my head. I like to paint just things from memory. I’m showing three things that I did recently.

Dotty: You need to think of warm and cool especially as it pertains to neutrals. I am showing a recent plein air. 

Joanne: I think of grayed down colors. I opened a booth in as Sherwood antique mall. I got frames and painted things to go inside the frames! I used oil painting paper to paint this one and it has glass over it. This was a real bargain frame for me. Eunice interjects: Do you know that you’re supposed to sell the stuff not buy it?? (Laughter! Laughter!)

Kristina: I recently painted at Cascade Locks. Thinking back to when I first started painting I remember people used to say to me "Well, you're not afraid of color"! I realize now that that was probably code for how I needed to put grays into to my paintings! (laughter)!

Charlie: It seems to me that Crayola is missing the boat. Crayola should have a whole series of neutrals and they should call them ---neutrals!! (Laughter)! I can see the value of having grays to offset the colors.

Jeanne: I like an artist name Fairfield Porter....I like his use of neutrals.  We live in a very neutral world here in Oregon. I have just come back from the Erik Sandgren paint out. There is something about painting every day with other dedicated people! I highly recommend it. The neutrals make make the rust of the boat work in this painting. Is way fun to paint boats --I love neutrals!

Tom: I enjoy an artist named Franz Hals. When I first started painting I copied several of his paintings. I discovered that just mixing blue and orange together I got an adequate neutral. I could lean it toward the red or lean towards the blue. I tried other opposites too. I have nothing to show today, but I painted Haystack rock recently.  Doing that seemed to have moved me out of a funk.

Annie: I also like that book that Celeste referenced about the mouse colors. I like that expression mouse colors, because I think I love mice.  (laughter)! I have recently purchased water soluble oil paint. I am kind of cheap so I got the cheaper "series one". I made a chart with neutrals from the compliments and also adding white. I recommend Joanne Kollman’s class. She is just great! She gives each individual a lot of attention and I have already learned so much. I do recommend her class. 

Eunice: I did not bring the painting today, but I am captivated by my neighbors roses ---I'm planning to paint them.

Anna: This is a good topic for me. I do my layout with raw umber and I do a notan. I went to BlackBerry Beach recently with Kristina. Scott Gellatly always suggests that the painting be mostly about "just one thing". In this painting I think I may have gotten off track ...because I made the painting about three things! I needed more domination here. I am taking Thomas Kitts advice and doing half hour challenges. I’m getting the hang of working so much faster.

Tracie: I don’t have a lot to say on the topic of neutrals. I am showing you a painting I did from a photograph of eastern Oregon. What I enjoyed was the “oddities” of this scene.
I have been using house paint and acrylic.

Tom K adds: Don’t forget to take all the paints from your palette at the end of the session and mix them altogether to make a mud pile. That can be just a great neutral for use in another painting.


Announcements:

Stephanie Cissna and Vicki Zimmerman have a new two person show over at Medley tea. (starting today)

Art on the Boulevard first Friday is Za Vue, Michael Lindstrom,  Mike Rangner and others

 OSA has a show about Hiroshima it’s only there today and tomorrow. http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com/gallery/current-upcoming-exhibits

 Peaceful Painting Sundays with Joanne Kollman meet at the Cracker Barrel 9am every Sunday The Cracker Barrel Store – 15005 N. W. Sauvie Island Road

 Joanne Kollman’s classes at OSA Fridays (tomorrows class will have an emphasis on the subject of brushwork) drop in is available


Kristina says that the Villa Catalana that is looking for people to paint at their annual paint out (August 20) http://www.villacatalanacellars.com  (there is a cover charge, but no charge to artists) contact owner through their website.

 November 3 at OSA  Suzanne McKay will give a demonstration about “Emotional watercolor”. She’s looking for a space to have a sale of some of her items if you know of any space that she could rent let her know.

The Thursday Drawing Club is on a hiatus (though you are still encouraged to meet there after our meeting for sketching ---all the hiatus means is that you need to put your own photos on the facebook page if you want). We will start up again “officially” in the future.



Thanks for coming today and sharing your ideas and paintings. Next meeting, Thursday, August 11, suggested table topic: Your “ideas" for paintings. Where do you get your ideas? Do you stick with similar ideas or change it up? When you change it up, what is your reasoning? Tell us your experience!

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