At today’s meeting: Tim Young, Loretta, Chris, Dave M, Char, Dave B, Nancy, Joanne, Eunice, Thim L, Hilarie, Diane, Kay, Za and me (Celeste).
Today’s suggested topic: Color mixing (do you have any
special tips?)
I (Celeste) brought in my “matching color chip” project. I
recommend a good color mixing video by Becky Joy. http://youtu.be/82DGEuClF-M
(Becky Joy is going to be the juror for this year at the
Hood River plein air event). She’s offering a workshop during the event
(September 4). Find out more in the sidebar here:
Loretta brought in a book about color mixing and she reminds
us that if you mix a permanent paint with a non-permanent paint you will reduce
the permanency!
Chris showed us the Color for Painters book. She is
interested in reducing her palette and making it more limited, especially for
plein air painting. She painted with the group recently at Sauvie Island and
brought in a painting from that day.
Kay painted at the Lake Oswego Hardy Plant paint out on
Saturday. She also took Scott Gellatly’s workshop (which, extensively covered
the color green). She showed us her exercises from that day. She gives Gellatly
very high marks for instruction.
Link to Gellatly’s upcoming workshops:
Char showed us her “abstract” plein air.
Dave McBride finds pre-mixing some colors to be helpful,
particularly greens. If he doesn’t do this he might produce a painting with too
many similar greens. (Pre-mixing just serves as a good reminder for him to pay
attention to specific differences). Dave told us the last paint out on Sauvie
was great fun, among other reasons.... because Kat was there!
(Come next week—Dave is planning on painting the area known
as “Africa”. They’ll meet as usual at the store at 3pm).
Nancy attended both Scott Gellatly’s workshop as well as
Orwick and Erickson’s workshop in Cannon Beach. She brought paintings from
both. Nancy just moved into the Towne Storage artist’s space. Nancy offers instruction
with a class called “Travelers’ Sketchbook”.
Joanne likes to mix up some of the “Goerschner grays” (from
his book): Joanne personally likes to “push” color and this may be because of a
California influence. She also painted Sauvie Island and in the Hardy Plant
paint out and she showed resulting paintings.
Thim (Yes, I think I am spelling that right—still pronounced
Tim) has been working on achieving correct values and he shared a portrait that
he did from a photo.
Hilarie tells us that when she first started painting she
used colors that were too intense. She has since learned that neutrals are
important to make colors seem more important. She reminds us to use other light
colors to lighten colors when needed (instead of relying too much on white).
Diane has been working on doing small studies before
painting a finished piece. She
notices that the smaller version can seem livelier and just overall “better”.
She is trying to employ the same devil-may-care attitude in the “finished”
piece as in the first study. She brought in small thumbnail ideas.
Za has returned from a trip to Colorado. She painted every
day. Her advice about color mixing is as follows:
Don’t obsess or over think.
Don’t isolate your colors—work to bring harmony to the piece
by
mixing up a lot of paint so that you have enough to “bend”
on your palette.
(Beware...when you try to mix on the canvas you run the risk
of canceling colors out!)
Instead of thinking about color too much, think about making
art—the colors can very well fall into place if you are “into” what you are
doing!
Za brought in paintings from Colorado and Sauvie Island.
Announcements:
David McBride is in the Rain or Shine Coffeehouse for the
month of July...as well as Heron Lakes Golf Course.
Celeste Bergin and Dave Burbach have pieces in the Lane
Gallery, First Friday Reception this Friday 6pm
Hilarie will be at English Estate this Saturday and Sunday painting
live portraits. She has been accepted into the Portrait Society of America (Congratulations,
Hilarie!) She also has a new studio (along with Nancy) at Towne Storage. They
will announce an open house soon.
Joanne Kollman receptions:
Beaverton City Hall Lobby, Reception Wednesday July 10th 5:45-7:45pm.
The Northeast Community Center, Reception Thursday July 18th 6-8pm.
It was super-noisy at O’Connor’s today, but everyone soldiered on!
Thanks all for coming today and sharing your ideas and paintings.
Next Meeting, July 11—suggested topic: the best (art-related) advice you’ve
ever received (from teacher, parent, co-painter, etc!)
Return to front page HERE: http://allaprimaportland.blogspot.com/
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Meeting Notes, July 11
Return to front page HERE: http://allaprimaportland.blogspot.com/
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Meeting Notes, July 11
At today’s meeting: Loretta, Chris, Thim, Eunice, Dave, Char, Stephanie, Diane, Marty, Dave B, Renita, Lola, Joanne, Donna and me (Celeste).
It was a bit more of a challenge to be heard today over the removal of the sidewalk directly in front of O’Connor’s front door today. ("Pardon our dust"!--- understatement, but we managed!)
Today’s suggested topic: What is the best (art-related or other) advice you have received?
Celeste: The best advice I’ve received is to "paint directly from life and from direct observation".
Lola: "SQUINTt to see darks and lights!"
Marty: “Don’t take yourself too seriously” (or---“Don’t quit your day job”!)
Diane: "If you did it once, you can do it again. It is all within you".
Stephanie “When we are unsatisfied...that is what drives us”.
(& from a commencement speech she heard: “1. Do good work, 2. Show up, 3. Be liked by others”)
Dave: A good artist advised him to "buy Richard Schmid’s book".
Char: “Stay Painting”
Kay: "look for the structure beneath successful artworks". (She showed examples of this where she traced over two photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson).
Eunice likes Jim McVicker and recently saw a video called “Painters Painting” on YouTube:
Thim likes the advice he got about the importance of value. Another piece of advice: “Draw-Draw-Draw”. Also, it is important to be part of a group (like ours) to share information.
Chris: “Don’t wait for inspiration to strike, paint anyway.”
"Paint what you love (find out what you are best doing and do that!)"
Loretta: “When you hit the wall---go through the wall”
“The remedy for failure is .....to forget it”.
Renita learned from her teacher “If you are not having any fun...you’re probably not being creative” and “Wait. Why am I talking?” (learn to listen).
Joanne: “Keep all principles in mind....but let the art direct you”.
Donna: “Sometimes you have to give up something really good for the sake of the painting” and “Good design usually includes something oblique, something irregular and something unexpected”.
(Many of us also shared paintings).
Announcements:
Joanne’s show at Beaverton City Hall is outstanding. (I blogged about it on my blog here, but really--you should go see it for yourself!)
Stephanie and Celeste will be in a neighborhood one-day outdoor show ("Tabor Day") on July 28.
Renita is putting out a call to artists for art for the US Bank (16th and Weilder). Interested? email her:
gerard@easystreet.net
Art on Broadway has a new show (and reception July 13)
More here: http://www.artonbroadway.net/?page_id=31
You (likely) can still call Susan Day by tomorrow if you want to sign up for the Lavender Festival.
Phone number in this pdf file:
Dave McBride has work installed at Marsee’s:
Joanne Kollman has work up at the Northeast Community Center (reception, Thursday, July 18, 6-8pm)
Next Wednesday meet at the Cracker Barrel store at Sauvie Island 3pm...the plan will be to go from there to Blue Heron.
Sandgren’s coastal paint out begins next week.
Thanks to all for the great discussion and art! You all did a great job of yelling over the construction! Next Thursday’s topic: What do YOU think might be a good idea for a (painting) series (and why)?
Back to the front page HERE
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Meeting Notes, July 18
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Meeting Notes, July 18
At today’s meeting: Loretta, Chris, Tim L, Eunice, Kay, Za (and niece Melinda), Dave B, Char, Sylvia, Joanne, Tim Y, Hilarie and me (Celeste).
Today’s suggested topic: Working in a series or developing a body of work. Your thoughts?
I (Celeste) recently got rid of more old ‘unnecessary’ paintings and I can begin to see a body of work emerging from what has been spared.
Loretta tells us that she did a series on 30x30 water lilies. She is drawn to that subject. She is continually culling and editing.
Chris says she currently does not think she has a body of work, but she listed ideas and passed it around. (Such good ideas, I’ve included her list here)
Ideas for series (Thanks, Chris Lally):
Different times of day
Daylight vs. Nighttime
Four Seasons
Warm dominance vs. cool dominance
Limit color palette
Abstract the subject
Use different color /color temperature grounds
Paint with different types of brushes
Paint with brushes of a different size
Use a palette knife
Focus on part of the scene
Change the format
Change the shape of the support
Place time constraint on painting
Limit the number of strokes you use
Progressively tighten the crop
Do a monochromatic painting in a warm or cool color
Black and white painting
Tim likes the idea of ‘painting a theme’. He continues to realize the importance of value. Out yesterday plein air painting he quizzed Chris on values “which value do you think that is?” (pointing at the object in real time)---both of them were surprised at how different the paint looks on the palette versus how it looked in relationship to other paint on the canvas! Keep vigilant about values and making the required changes!
Eunice found Kathleen Dunphy’s website and also Knowlton Gallery (that has a great batch of videos on youtube). Both worth checking out. Also, Eunice was looking through her most recent Southwest Art magazine and found an article on ‘our’ Michael Orwick, Don Bishop, Brenda Boylan and Romona Youngquist! Congratulations, all and thanks, Eunice for sharing the information.
Sylvia has been involved in a landscape series and she showed us some miniature paintings. Who knew that they made panels that small?
Kay has a current ongoing series in the works about “texting”. She shared a book with us about contemporary Landscape. One of the quotes she liked from the book was “ Swing a big brush”. She recently got to paint from a live model outside and showed us the resulting painting.
Save the date! Kay will host a “Virgo” party Sept 14th. More information to come.
Za advises that it is very rewarding to work in a series. She has been invited into a show about vineyards and she is looking forward to planning an executing a major (cohesive) idea about it. She brought a painting that she did plein air in Colorado. She also brought her big painting that was accepted into the AIS show –she gave us a private viewing of this at the side of the building because it is so big and she didn’t want to haul it inside. She did a lot of research about the best way to ship the painting and she shared what she learned. It is a magnificent painting –Thanks for sharing it with us and Congratulations, Za!
Joanne has recently been involved in an extensive (RACC funded) series called “Northwest Neighbors, who are we”? Get by to see it if you haven’t. Another series she worked on was entitled “Solitary Spaces”. She has learned from both these experiences to work on 3 or 4 paintings at a time. Her advice is to choose a theme that is “not too broad and not too narrow”. She has a reception TONIGHT at the NE Community Center.
Tim showed us a great painting of sand dunes that he did with 'leftover paint'!
Dave tells us that sometimes he has gotten bored working on a series. He describes his work as “all over the board”.... but this is what he likes---many many subjects. He showed us paintings on his iphone.
Hilarie thinks that having a series (or theme) in mind helps her to create. Her favorite subject is and always will be figure---but she understands the value of plein air painting (scenery outdoors).
Announcements:
Joanne’s show at Beaverton City Hall has really great young people’s art for sale at low prices. It would be awesome if you would check it out and consider buying a piece to be a youngster’s first “patron”. (3rd floor of Beaverton City Hall).
Joanne Kollman Northeast Community Center (reception) tonight:
The Northeast Community Center. July 1- August 31st 2013. Reception Thursday July 18th 6-8pm.
Meet Dave McBride next Wednesday at the Cracker Barrel store at Sauvie Island...the plan is to go from there. 3pm.
Eric Sandgren’s coastal paint out is underway—throw in with them anytime, any day.
Viewer that Celeste showed:
Here is the list of accepted artists into Pacific NW Plein Air. All outdoor painters are welcomed and invited to paint alongside at the locations (listed in the sidebar of the blog).
Congratulations, Kat Sowa, First Place in the Lavender Show!
Hilarie was accepted into the Portrait Society. Congratulations, Hilarie!
Next Thursday’s topic: “Broken color”---what does it mean to you? Do you employ it? Discuss!
Return to the front page HERE
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Meeting Notes July 25
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Meeting Notes July 25
At today’s meeting: Eunice, Brenda, Diane, Kay, Tim L, Tim Y, Loretta, Chris, Joanne, Joua, Za, Marty, Claudia and me (Celeste).
Today’s “suggested topic”: Broken Color
I (Celeste) talked about how Craig Srebnik introduced broken color to me during a demonstration. He showed how random strokes could create an interesting (unplanned) passage. I showed a painting where I emulated Monet's staccato brushwork.
Loretta told us that generally she doesn’t think about broken color.... though at the end of a painting she adds touches that could be described as broken (with a crisp application of paint).
Tim L said if “broken color” could be described as “chaotic”...perhaps he knows something about it (ha-ha—we laughed in understanding). He showed three paintings from Sauvie Island.
Tim Young does not consciously try to work with broken color.. He recommends we have a look at some of the work of Chuck Close if we want to consider his form of broken (unexpected) color. Tim is looking forward to the Kitts workshop. He brought in a recent landscape.
Eunice brought in her large copy of an Ovanes Berberian painting.... a magnificent example of broken colors. She said painting the copy has helped her with subsequent paintings.
Stephanie knows that the Impressionist employed “broken color” by using bits of color and allowing the viewer to mix the colors with their eyes. She doesn’t plan to paint in a mechanical way...having to think about placing colors in strategic ways to create that effect (though she admires it). She brought in 3 paintings.
Za gave us a mini-lecture on broken color. “Be careful not to think of broken color as a style in and of itself”, she said. There are three types of mixing: Additive, Subtractive and Optical. Broken color falls into the optical category. Broken color imparts an idea (not a style). Za uses broken color all the time, because she doesn’t do much blending. She is mindful of putting colors adjacent to one another, or on top of one another—to create an optical mix. Za encourages everyone to learn about simultaneous contrast and other things that can be used to allow the viewer to “complete the painting” (with their own eyes). The viewer wants to fill in colors that are not there—and this is useful information for the painter to have as they plan and execute the painting. Za showed a painting from the Sandgren coastal paint out. She loved spending time with Eugene artist Sarah Sedwick* (among others!) Za thinks we should consider throwing in with the Eugene artists in Create Eugene (link below).
Kay showed us her miniature plein air set. She has been working on paring down her supplies so that she doesn’t have to lug too much stuff around. She showed us a painting from the Max train.
Diane thinks she has always painted in a broken color way. Blending, she has learned. often turns to ‘mush’! She brought in a watercolor (that she finished with color wax on top). She also brought in a lovely tree painting that employed a variety of greens. She likes to add red to her greens to modify them.
Brenda showed us a painting from a series where she used complimentary, split complimentary and triad color combinations. (These paintings can be viewed at Art Elements Gallery in Newberg). She told us about her participation in Plein Air Easton (Maryland). It was tons of hard work and the weather was brutal. The event is run like a well-oiled machine, however, and the organizers and volunteers were extraordinary. Brenda completed 13 paintings and was selected to do an on-the-fly demonstration that was filmed and put on the Plein Air Easton website that very same day. (Yet another example of their efficiency!) The interview is great. Make sure you watch it. (link below) Brenda said the entire Plein Air Easton experience was GREAT. (We’re proud of you, Brenda!)
More info about Brenda in announcements below.
Joanne often uses colorful splashes of color (that are well thought through). She has solid reasons for where she puts paint. Her method usually is to start thin and build up colors. She brought in 3 great examples of her version of “broken color”.
Claudia tells us that there are a couple of studios available above the Sequoia Gallery. These are beautiful spaces, economically priced (she is sort of thinking of getting one for herself). Claudia reminds us that Hillsboro plein air is coming up and Craig Srebnik will be the judge this year.
Marty says broken color is mysterious to him. He is working on a painting of his grandchild. Portraits and figure continue to interest him. He doesn't like painting outdoors in severe heat!
Announcements:
Stephanie and Celeste are painting on Sunday, July 28 Noon to 7pm at Tabor Day (Mt. Tabor is our neighborhood).
Brenda is doing demonstrations at Oregon Society of Artists August 1 and August 8. She is the juror for Umqua Plein Air. She, Mike Orwick, Ramona Youngquist and Don Bishop are featured in this month’s issue of Southwest Art. Check out their work at Art Elements Gallery (link below).
Art on the Boulevard (Michael Lindstrom and others for Art in the Heart) August 2 and 3
Links for Create Eugene and artist Sarah Segwick:
Paint along with the selected artists in the Pacific NW Plein Air exhibit and competition:
(Info in side bar):
Plan on the Becky Joy workshop Sept 4 (information in sidebar)
Dave McBride continues to host Wednesday paint outs (3pm) at Sauvie Island:
Are you still reading? Whew! Wordy!! Thanks all, for sharing your art and experiences.
Next Meeting, Thursday August 1
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