Meeting Notes, Jan 7, 2016

At today's meeting Loretta, Jeanne, Dotty, Tim, Jim, Bill, Gretha, Mike, Ward, Jeanie, Diana, Linda, Charlie, Stephanie, Betsy, Dave, Tedd, Eunice, Stephanie, Joanne, Brenda, Kristina, and me, Celeste


Suggested table topic: Your name and your signature. What can you tell us about it?

Celeste: I use only my last name. I like how it only has 6 letters and it looks succinct. I use a rigger brush when I sign.

Eunice: I used to go by my full name and now I use the initial E and my last name. I have not been painting lately. But I will!

Tedd: I just use my last name. I brought in a new ("intentionally") black and white painting today.

Dave: I will have a new website soon.  I sign my name differently now from how I used to. I am showing you a painting that I did from a Black Butte reference recently. I like to inscribe my name into wet paint with a sharp instrument.

Betsy: I used to do drawings for notecards. I am bringing in some samples of my older work. I used initials back then and I by Betsy was printed on the back of the card. Currently I use my first initial (E for Elizabeth) and my last name.

Stephanie: I think it is important not to sign too large. I also like it when the signature looks harmonious with the rest of the painting. For myself, I have not cared too much for a full signature. I like to use initials. I sometimes go with S.Cissna.
I brought in a painting from Villa Catalana.

Charlie: I agree that the name should not be too big. I have equal letters in my first name and last name. I like to sign on the right or left depending on the design. My favorite way to do this is like with the Chinese printing chock.

Linda: in my previous profession I used to sign things in order to "stand behind it." I certified important things. I think that signing your paining is similar in that it is the ultimate important step. I like Albrecht Durer's signature which was initials. I am bringing you a sample to show you how I linked my initials together.

Jeanie: I have signed in all sorts of different configurations. Currently I'm using my first name. I have a painting that I haven't yet signed. I experiment with different ways to sign.

Ward:  When I was a boy my mom and I used to play a game where she would scribble on a paper and I would make things out of that. My mother was a great influence on me when I was a boy. We even had a van that she decorated and painted with Looney Tunes characters on the exterior. I had a teacher who looked at my signature and said "you are either going to be famous or a psychopath". ....And that was fine with me because I thought she meant something that had to do with cycling like a cycle-path (laughter)! I brought in a painting that I did of my friend. It got a lot of likes on Facebook. I also brought in a second watercolor piece. Your signature should be as beautiful as the piece that you have produced! I am a musician and in the future there will be an event that I want to invite you to. I will send Celeste the information. 

Dianne: I don't think that I have a very pretty-looking name... it just doesn't flow. I have decided to go with D and Holland. I believe your signature should all look the same on both oil paintings and pastels. I am committed to learning how to use ^*^%*Y&*@ water soluble paints (laughter)!  I am showing you some recent paintings.

Jeanne: I can't say anything more about signatures. I am showing you a painting I did recently plein air at Depot Bay. 

Brenda: When I was younger I signed my full name including my middle name. That is too much! (Laughter)! To me the signature and the look of it is a branding issue. I have made my name and signature look linear. I sign the same way each time. I use my signature like a logo on my blog and on my website. I am showing a painting that I did as a demonstration.

Kristina: I was told by someone that my painting had outgrown my old signature. This was told to me in a "tough love" type of way...and I took it as a compliment! I practiced on my old paintings to come up with a new signature. I am showing you samples of this with my new signature on a newer painting. (I practiced on old paintings to get both the look and feel that looked right).

Mike: I don't have a great name for being an artist.  My name is Mike Porter. Actually my first name is Terrence. Should I go with TM Porter? Should I go with T Mike Porter? Should I just go with Porter? I don't know... but I do know when I get the answer to all of this I will be a better painter! (Laughter!)

Gretha: I have given this a lot of thought. My signature has been through a few incarnations. In the beginning I even went by "Lindy"! I took a workshop with Albert Handel. He taught me to sign clearly. I use a number two pencil for my signature. I am bringing in a recent plein air painting.

Bill: My father was an artist. I always admired his signature. By way of a tribute I have tried to emulate his signature with my signature. I am showing you that he signed in this way and you can see how I've signed that it is similar. I am showing a painting of my granddaughter and a second painting of my granddaughter is a work in progress. 

Jim: I was taught by my teachers that your signature is really very important. When I went to school I liked Chinese brush and ink. I liked signing my name like that. I try to emulate that same type of look in oil paint. There is another artist who has exactly my name. To distinguish myself from him I put my middle initial into my signature. I designed it. It is very thought through. I don't sign my paintings until I am good and ready. I sometimes sign them in a stack! I brought in two paintings that I did from references of my recent trip to Italy.

Dotty: I am curious about how other people sign paintings.  I sign my name with two initials and my last name in a continuous flow type of way. I brought in this painting that I did recently ...that I didn't sign (Laughter)! 

Tim: I scribe into the wet paint. That is my favorite way to sign a painting. I brought in a painting from the first day of January, a painting of Oxbow park and a "self portrait" (of my foot)! (Laughter)!

Carrie: When I was younger I always signed with block letters. I still do that now. 

Joanne: I will speak in my choir voice for projection!   My last name is Radmilovich. My married name was Kollman. I have found a way to put it all on a painting unobtrusively. I have a lot of large paintings hanging in the church right now that are not signed. They are large gestural paintings. I will sign them if and when they sell. I think I know enough on the subject that if anybody was interested I would be happy to host a workshop about signing. 

Loretta: I used to sign my full name but now I want to just my last name. I have scribed but but it doesn't always work right for me.


Announcements: 

 Scott Gellatly tonight beginning at 6pm at OSA (critique and demo)

http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com

His workshop in Jan 8 and 9:
http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com/workshops.html

Susan Kuznitsky demo is Thursday Jan 14:

http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com

Brenda's workshops at OSA (in March)


Brenda has plans to paint in Cuba this year and Palm Springs. She has a reception in Camas on Friday Jan 8 with the new Attic gallery: 


Gretha has Thursday classes at the Village Gallery beginning next Thursday. 
(information from Gretha):
Introduction to Pastel
Been wanting to learn to paint with pastels but unsure how to begin? Join me for a three-week course with structural, easy to follow lessons to get you started. Demonstrations and individual instruction will be given. Students will experiment with different pastel papers while applying the principles of color, value, and design.
Dates: Thursday afternoons, January 14, 21, and 28, 2016
Time: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: The Village Gallery of Arts, 12505 NW Cornell Rd., Suite #14, Portland, OR 97229
If interested, email for more information. gretha@artbygretha.com

Gretha is going to Florida this coming year along and also returning to Paint the Peninsula. 

Joanne Kollman has a portrait workshop at Sequoia gallery January 16 and 17. This is for everyone --even people new to oil. 


Joanne also has a talk on Sunday about the grant -writing process at 9 AM with the reception at 11 AM. 
Trinity Cathedral Arts Winter Show: Joanne Kollman Northwest Neighbors Series
accompanied by a small series of whimsical anthropomorphic cat and dog etchings for sale.
January 10th-February 28th 2016 Artists Talk 9am January 10th. Reception 11 am
147 NW 19th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Ward tells us that Linda Church could use some more work at Concordia College. Email her right away if you are interested: lchurch@cu-portland.edu

We went to the Seattle Art Museum yesterday in a field trip. It was a wonderful time and there were so many paintings to see! It was just an excellent outing. Photos on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222304114527014/


Thank you for coming in today and sharing your ideas and your paintings! Sometimes we have are faced with very noisy "other" customers, like we were today!  It is such a challenge when that happens. There is never anything that we can do about this except to carry-on and soldier on like you all did! Thank you so much!

Next meeting is Thursday, January 14 the suggested table topic: Painting "loosely" --is this something you know about? What do you know? What do you think it means? Do you aspire to it or ....not? Tell us your ideas associated with painting "loosely:.

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