Product Critique Corner

GOLDEN OPEN Acrylics
OPEN Acrylics are a new line of colors and mediums for professional artists designed with a unique set of working properties that represent a true departure from all other acrylics on the market and that dramatically expand the range of techniques that are available to artists who prefer to use acrylics.


New Paint for Professional Artists!


OPEN Acrylics are formulated with an optimum balance of pigment load and 10acrylic polymer dispersion to produce a paint with a uniquely relaxed set of working characteristics and a versatility that allows artists to explore a wider range of techniques such as portraiture and landscape painting that rely on softening, shading, glazing, and creating fine detail.

OPEN Acrylics resist skinning, remain wet on the palette for extended periods and exhibit a remarkable versatility that allows them to be used directly from the tube for plein air painting, monoprinting and screenprinting. OPEN Acrylics may be blended with other GOLDEN Acrylic Colors, Mediums and Gels, with the open time of the resulting mixtures being proportionately reduced. To maintain the maximum working time of OPEN Acrylics, use OPEN Mediums and Thinner.

To read more about this product go to: http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/JP19.pdf

Look at the videos on the left side under products we love to see how this paint works!

Getting Started with Oils!

This is the first in a series of lessons on oils.

So you are ready to give it a try? Where do you start? I would say that the first thing you need is a place to paint…..this place has to have good lighting, and good ventilation. The room has to be big enough so you and the air can move around no painting in closets!
Next you have to have an easel. Be sure to shop around and get one that is sturdy and one that feels good to be in front of. It is a good idea to put a drop cloth down to protect the floor from spills.
You will also need to have some special painting clothes. Nothing fancy but you do need to have something that you use especially wear when you are painting. You will need to have a taboret or small table where you can place your palette, brushes and palette knife, solvent and oil containers, rags or paper towels and paint tubes so they are readily available for you to use.
You need to have one container with just solvent, and the other with medium. A standard painting medium is 1 part oil to 2 parts solvent. I have allergies so I prefer to only use oil with no solvents. I especially love safflower oil but others that are good are refined, cold pressed, or stand oils, walnut or poppy oils. Alkyd resin and Japan drier can be added to the painting medium to speed drying time.
You need to take time to choose your paints, don’t buy student quality, they are full of fillers and less pigment. Try to purcahse the best artist quality you can afford. My personal favorites is Permalba, Da Vinci, and Rembrandt.
My suggestion for your first purchase is the following colors, as you progress you can add other colors from the advanced list.
Starting List
Cadmium Red
Cadmium Orange
Alizarin Crimson
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Lemon Yellow
Cerulean Blue
Viridian
Sap Green
Ultramarine Blue
Dioxazine Purple
Brilliant Yellow Light
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Yellow Ochre
Raw Sienna
Titanium White
Lamp Black

Advanced List
Indian Yellow
Alizarin Orange Permanent
Cobalt Turquoise
Green Earth
Indanthrone Blue
Perione Orange
Permanent Green Light
Prussian Blue
Quinacridone Violet
Ultramarine Violet
Rose Madder Permanent
Phthalo Blue
Phthalo Green
For cleaning your brushes I strongly recommend Turpenoid Natural it is a highly effective brush cleaner, conditioner, and painting medium that is specially formulated with organic ingredients to be non-toxic and non-flammable. If you are concerned about health, safety, or environmental issues this is a great alternative to traditional solvents.

Now we come to the brushes. Oil painters need to have brushes that will hold a lot of paint and ones that have a great “spring” to them. Hog bristles are the best brushes suited for oils, brights, flats, rounds and filberts are my choice. Buy the best you can afford and then take care of them! You don’t need 50 brushes to get started just a few, I always told my students to get at least three sizes of each kind, then build from there. When working wipe dirty brushes off as much as possible with clean rags and then swish in the turpenoid.
Remember that the brush cleaner can be recycled, put the lid on the thinner container and leave it until next time, despite of how cloudy it is. When the thinner settles, the pigment in the paint goes to the bottom, and clean thinner settles on top so you can gently pour it off into a new container.
A Painting knife is an essential, you will use it to mix your paints and to paint with. Choose one that has a handle that is not level with the blade. This will keep your knuckles from getting in the paint as you mix. The flat knives you see on the market are called mixing knives, I really prefer the “painting knife” to mix with and I am sure you will too.

Caution:
The materials used when oil painting are grave, harmful materials. Always know exactly what you are working with, be sure to read the labels first before using it. It is imperative that you know how to dispose of these hazardous materials according to where you live and their requirements. Work with serious care at all times while using and handling oil paint. Never eat while you are painting, keep small children and animals out of your painting room. Never store flammable store flammable materials in enclosed areas if they have been used with thinner or walnut or linseed oil. Thinner and oil mediums are combustible.
If you get paint or thinner on your skin it can cause irritation, wash immediately with lots of water. I keep a small bottle of baby oil near by so I can used it to use it to get paint off my hands, it works really well. I also like to keep baby wipes near by.




I think it is a good practice to lay out your palette the same way each time. When you start you can be expected to know the names of all the colors so I use Freezer paper for my palette, I had my students write the color with a magic marker under each color so they could learn their names. By putting them in the same place each time you will be able
be able to pick up a bit of a color instinctively.
Put out all of your colors, about the size of a quarter is a good amount. When you have finished painting cover your palette. It can be put into the freezer if you don’t plan on using it for a while.

Guest Artist

Amelia Fleck





Morning Delivery


Daylily & Delphiniums


Floral Bouquet


Pansies & Pinks


He Loves Me,
He Loves Me Not


Fresh Baked










Summer Sunshine




We want to welcome our second guest artist; Amelia Fleck.

Amelia lives in Bolivar New York approximately 100 miles south of Buffalo New York, a secluded rural area up on a hill completely surrounded by trees. Her closest neighbor is about a 5 min walk the next neighbor is about a 20 min walk. She and her husband moved there in 2006 from Niagara Falls where her children still live. In Niagara Falls, everything you could want was about a 15-minute drive from her door. Now it’s about 40 minutes!
Amelia’s father was a photographer and also good artist. Before colored film was available people painted the black and white photos with oil paint so they appeared to have color. That was her mothers’ job. She was very good at it and she liked to watch when she was little. The color was applied as a glaze over the photo so the picture itself was visible through the paint. Amelia still has her oil set and all the accessories that she used. This was very much like the technique Amelia uses in pen and ink with oil rouging.
She married her child hood sweetheart and raised a daughter and two sons. All of whom are married and have children of their own. Amelia is the proud grandmother of 3 granddaughter’s 3 grandsons 1 great-grandson. When her children were almost grown she found out that Joyce Aiken a neighbor of hers was offering painting classes in her home.

Amelia has had no formal training in art beyond art class in high school. In 1995, she signed up for a beginner acrylic class and found that she really enjoyed it. She took almost every class that was offered. Joyce knew Amelia was looking for painting that was more realistic and less cutesy so she introduced her to Mary Owens. With Mary, she found a technique that included an outlet for her love of sketching and a way to add color that she was extremely comfortable doing.Although Joyce has stopped painting, they have remained friends and she is still interested in what Amelia doing.
When Mary Owens started her certification classes Amelia became a certified Mary Owens teacher CMOT for short.
In 1999 after taking certification with Mary Owens, she started designing her own pattern packets.
Her favorite medium is Pen and Ink with Oil Rouging because it is so forgiving. She loves the pen and ink part and can play with it until she achieves the look she wants before she continues to the next step. Amelia has found this medium is the most stress free style of painting there is for her because each step is correctable. She still likes acrylics and paints with them for her own pleasure but finds them to stressful to teach.
When you have what you want you simply seal it and move right along to the next step.
As you can see Amelia’s favorite subjects are Florals, nature, and landscapes. She loves the diversity in color and shapes. She also enjoys Nostalgic subjects, things that remind her of experiences she has seen along her journey. On occasion, she will strike out and paint something whimsical just for the fun of it!
Her inspiration comes from family and friends. She likes it when they ask if she could draw something in particular or they point out an object that they really like. For example, her Aunt asked if she could draw a sunflower and birdhouse for her and she designed “Summer Sunshine” her aunt loved it. “I look at the world around me and wonder if what I am looking at would make an interesting subject to draw and paint.”
Her advice to other artists is to “relax and don’t be afraid to ask your teacher questions and if you are teaching yourself then contact the designer if you have questions. If you belong to a painting list like Purple Palette Artists send your questions to the list, there is always someone willing to help you.
Take one-step at a time and don’t say I can’t before you have even tried. I have had so many people come into my booth at convention take a look at something I have painted and say, “oh I could never do that.” Then I ask have you ever tried? The answer is always no but I know I could never do that. That is when I offer them an opportunity to try one of the make and takes I offer and they are always amazed at the fact they could indeed paint like that.”

She was a member of the Niagara Decorative Painters until she moved out of the area. At that time, she was in charge of putting out the monthly newsletter. While a member, she also taught a few classes. She has taught at conventions in Canada and the US including MAD until they closed. She will be teaching at Coast to Coast in April and has submitted to teach at HOOT for August.

Among Amelia’s favorite artists are Thomas Kincaid and Norman Rockwell, Cheri Rol, Ruth Cook, Esa Nieminen, Lydia Steeves, Maureen McNaughton and Jamie Mills Price. Not necessarily in that order and there are many more on her list.

What does she plan for her future?
She would like to learn how to paint a traditional oil painting. Take a class on portrait painting. Paint something in a Thomas Kincaid style of painting.

If you would like to visit her site go to:
www.amelia-ann.com

The Color "Purple"

The Color “Purple”!


Purple is a favorite of mine, my eyes are always drawn to this color. According to psychologists, the color purple is calming, uplifting, encourages creativity, often loved by the creative and eccentric types and is a favorite of adolescent girls! I have a granddaughter who absolutely loves this color so I have to agree!
In the time of Christ, the dye was very expensive so only the very rich could wear it. The purple color was produced from an extremely expensive dye called Tyrian purple which originated in Tyre in Lebanon. The Phoenicians owned the monopoly on this purple dye which was made by crushing thousands of seashells called Mediterranean Murex. To make the dye for one toga it took ten thousand Murex mollusks! This dye symbolized wealth and power because it was hard to come by. By the time of the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it was replaced by cheaper dyes made from madder and lichen.
During the Elizabethan times, the law decided who could wear this color! These were called Sumptuary Laws. Purple not only provided information about the status of the person wearing this color, but it also reflected their social standing. The only people allowed to wear this color at this time were the Queen, Queen's mother, children, sisters, and aunts. The King, King's mother, children, brothers, sisters, and uncles.
Purple has been symbolic of the Christians. It has always been linked with Royalty, and the Roman Emperors always wore purple togas. It was also a color worn in mourning. The color purple has a Biblical meaning it is the color for the seasons of Lent and Advent.
For many it symbolizes perception, spirituality, and magic.
If you like to meditate it is a good color to be surrounded by because it soothes mental and emotional stress.

If you are an artist and love creating with purple is shows that you have an adventurous heart with spiritual leanings and a panache for drama.
Purple is connected with imagination and inspiration. It is also a color that represents self-respect, determination and a feeling of being in control.
Purple is a combination of blue and red. Red is a dynamic color with vigorous energy while blue is cooling, soothing and passive. The merging of the two distinct colors creates a feeling of energy and serenity which allows more creative energy to become visible. It helps calm the soul and relieves stress.
Light purple; Lavender has been associated with being feminine and passionate. It is often thought to be “exotic”
because it is unusual in nature. It conveys opulence, wealth, sophistication, and extravagance.
There are many words that are equal with purple lavender, royal, thistle, orchid, pomegranate, amethyst, mauve, violet, lilac, plum, eggplant, puce, and mulberry.

Personality tests show that people who love purple are kind, unselfish, mentally strong, inspirational leaders, and humanitarians, creative and imaginative.
Not only do we have lots of colors of purple we have smells of purple. I love the smell of violets, there is nothing like their sweet smell in the springtime! They pop up out of the snow early in March and bringing a small bunch inside creates a wonderful, refreshing fragrance throughout the house! Aromatherapy benefits: anchoring, romantic, relaxing, sensual, and calming.
I also love the clean smell of Lavender which is said to be stress reducing. (Who can’t use that?) Aromatherapy benefits: include peaceful, gently balancing, clarifying, and normalizing. Lavender is one of the most ancient essentials used in perfumed products.
During the 19th century, Lavender was greatly fashionable, reserved for women. Today it is used by men and women. Other purple scents are Lilac and Wisteria and there is a dark purple petunia I love to plant that has a very spicy fragrance which fills my patio with its delightful scent!

What about artist pigments?

We have the beautiful Cobalt Violet which was developed around 1860, because it was very costly and had weak coloring power it was restricted among artists. It has been outdated by the cleaner, stronger pigment Manganese Violet

Manganese Violet was developed by the German chemist E. Leykauf in 1868. It is also referred to as Permanent Violet.

Violet is a term that describes a shade of purple, a mixture of red and blue. Violet pigments include Archil and Tyrian purple. Shades of violet include Amethyst, Heliotrope, Lavender, Indigo, Lilac, Purple Mauve, and Fuchsia.


So what does wearing purple show about you?

Well for one thing, you do want to be noticed! Purple is not a neutral background color! Therefore, if you wear purple and want to blend in with the crowd you can forget that idea! The shades of violet make a statement, you want people to notice you, and you want to stand out! If you want to feel distinctive and unique then definitely wear purple and shades of violet! It tells the world that you don’t care about conformity, your one of a kind, extraordinary, and very special!

Sharon Teal-Coray

ARTISTS CORNER

This is our new section called "Artist's Corner". Our first artist is Robyne Recca



ORNA-MENTAL-ED-OUT




It’s almost December and it is the ‘big’ rush for as many ornaments as can be painted in almost every waking hour of every day until Christmas; orders are coming through for every color, flower, Santa and of course snowmen. Glitter, metallic’s, crystals, ribbon and anything else that could be thought of to accent and embellish any size ornament that is desired by the consumer….
Who was the one that said we were in a tight economy? Next year I won’t believe it; I will start earlier than September just to be able to be on top of my classes, holiday shopping, and other orders for the Christmas rush…….. And rushing, I am!
Trying to think of more designs too, how many different color scarves can one paint around the neck of a snowman? Or mittens to match? How fast can one paint a Christmas flower and still make it look like an heirloom or something worthy to hang on that tree?
Been to some Christmas shows just to rest my aching eyes; have seen many ornaments ranging from $5.00-$95.00- seen ‘decals’ on some; what is up with that? Do crafters in juried shows use rub-ones and a little glitter to make it appear “hand- made”? Does the shopper know that some crafters are cheating to make a quick buck? I personally could not fake a hand-painted snowman on an ornament; I may, however glue a crystal as a nose in lieu of a carrot-adds character…but, could not look at a customer with the pretense of a hand-painted look…………………
Well, off to more painting and delivering. Happy painting and holidays to you
Robyne Recca
Art From The Heart

Naif (Naïve) Painting by Linda Lover

Grandma Moses

She was my inspiration, not only did she start late, she became famous for a style that was developed more from creativity than training.






Mattie Lou O'Kelly












Villeroy and Bach










Naif (Naïve) Painting
One year for Christmas my husband bought me a set of Villeroy and Bach dishes, each plate and serving piece had a different French country scene, very simple but quite charming. The design on the back was listed as “Naif” and the artist was Laplau. That set in motion my curiosity about this style of painting. Gerard Laplau recently passed away in the past couple of years in France, and he was just one of many naïf artists.
Webster’s definition of “naïf” (naïve) is ingenuous, unsophisticated, unworldly, artless and simple. Artless! How can that be when there is no question that it is a form of art! Anatole Jakovosty explained it well, “If we want to approach the subject of naïve painting with honesty, then we shall have to concede that nothing of what we know about art in terms of the origins of an artistic movement can be likened to the adventure of naïve painting. For this reason, the present and rather recent popularity of naïve painting appears to puzzle and confuse people, dividing the work into supporters and detractors.”
Naïve painting isn’t new but there’s very little written about the subject, perhaps because there aren’t any exact rules to describe or define its style and technique. And, of course, there is its lack of recognition as an art form through the years. It can’t be taught; it must be felt from the heart and from the soul of the painter. It comes from the painter’s vision of how things appear to him or her. It seems to go from the eye, to the brain, to the hand, to the surface. There’s almost a mystery to the finish as the design is not overly planned, rather it begins to unfold little by little until the magical completion. It’s somewhat like telling a story, anticipating the end. Naif paintings have been compared to children’s art, cave drawings and other very simple forms of expression because they are usually creations done by those without formal training. Every true naïve painter has their own perspective of the world which is unique and different from anyone else’s. This is one reason it can’t be taught; it just sort of happens.
A naïve painter invents their own style, and it is usually reflective of their region. For example there is naïf art from Mexico full of bright colored flowers and adobes, French designs that express the European countryside, or African which might be childlike paintings of jungle animals and palm trees. What they have in common is that they are all simple, truly original and one of a kind born from one artist’s image of how he sees it.
Naïve painting can be confused with folkart, but it’s more like folk culture. Even folkart has some sort of basics such as being handed down through the generations in accordance with a set of rules or patterns. There are also bad painters of naïve art that are regarded as “pompiers”, which I am yet to figure out why they would be referred to as “firemen” in French. Though most naïve painters are untrained, it doesn’t exclude some who are trained in art, Marc Chagall is perhaps one of the most notable professionals.
“Naïve pictures are like trifles produced by children playing with form and colors. This does not mean that one should equate naïve painting with paintings done by children though. What long ago was seen as clumsy, awkward, and lacking any painterly skills nevertheless demonstrates an arrangement as orderly as that of any other kind of painting. Its rhythms are consistent; its colors harmonize-only differently. One might say that naïve painters have certain pictorial ideas circulating in their subconscious which, quite spontaneously, demand to be given release” Anatole Jakovsky. Naïve painting is not simply painting for the fun of it, it is an actual individual style developed solely by the
painter, one that they work at continually. The beauty of naïve painting is that it’s timeless, as wonderfully appealing today as it was in days gone by. It might also be called memory painting. In America, two of our most well known naïf painters are Grandma Moses and Mattie Lou O’Kelly. Both painted rolling hills and busy characters with lots of color which were representative of where they lived. Grandma Moses was from Vermont and Mattie Lou O’Kelly was from Georgia. There was a lot of fun and movement in the paintings, especially the ones showing holiday scenes.
I’ve included some lined illustrations on Purple Palette Artist’s group. They are simple enough to do freestyle and you can create your own story in paint by using buildings, trees, and shrubs. Placement is left totally up to your imagination as are the details and the seasons. A building can be a barn, a house, a church or a mill or maybe you don’t even want a building. You can paint mountains or hills filled with leafy trees or tall pines, maybe a little stream running through. Your scene can be a crowded neighborhood with a line of houses or a busy marketplace; perhaps the peaceful seclusion of the countryside. You can choose the time of day, the weather, and the season. This is such a wonderful style, and it’s not difficult at all. Use the size of brush that is easiest to paint the subject matter or the area. There isn’t the need to shade and highlight but do keep a contrast in the colors so nothing gets lost. Naif is how we perceive to paint what is in front of us as well as what is in our imagination. If you would like to attempt a try at such realism, just look out your window and paint what you see. Naïve isn’t only land or seascapes but it can be your impression of animals, birds, and still life. All that is required really is the desire to paint without expectations.


Notation:
Linda has given us a beautiful pattern for this style of art on our Purple Palette Group, members are encouraged to paint it using their own colors.Thanks Linda for this great article and free pattern!

First Guest Artist!

Gayle Xuereb










Pet Pelican







Rose painted with Genesis








Emus with Sydney Opera House















Oil portrait painted with Johnnie Liliedahl



Arum Lilies painted with Genesis








The "Geek"!


Poppies



Lorikeets in flight







MEET GAYLE!

The first guest artist we are featuring is Gayle Xuereb who comes from an island called Bribie Island. This is just off the coast of Queensland Australia. It is about 50 minutes drive north of its capital city Brisbane, it is joined to the mainland by a bridge ,with a population of around 16,000 residents, it is 32 kilometers long, 11 kilometers wide making it approximately the same size as Singapore.
The island is a Flora and Fauna reserve which is mostly open range protecting all the beautiful wildlife. The traffic gives way to anything that is crossing the road such as Emus and Ducks.
Gayle lives on a canal where she enjoys daily sightings of dolphins and a pet pelican. The surrounding area are filled with all sorts of bird life singing in the trees with the only other noise being boat motors as they pass by. Gayle has her favorites which are the wonderful lorikeets who are always waiting for their seeds.
A short motor out in the boat and you are at sea and in the main shipping channel which is the Sunshine Coast and is the beginning of the islands which make up what is known as The Great Barrier Reef.

Gayle grew up in NSW living in the southern suburbs of Sydney, her mother passed away when she was 12 years old. Her eldest sister Sylvia who had recently married and was only 20 moved back home and helped her father in raising the family. She has three sisters including Sylvia, 4 nephews, 9 great nephews, 4 step grand children, 2 stepdaughters.
Gayle met her wonderful husband in 1987 when she advertised for him on a radio program called “The Midnight Matchmaker”. They have been married for 17 years and she feels like she won the jackpot when she married. Her husband Claude, is Egyptian and was born in Alexandria, moving to Australia with his parents when he was 14 years old. When she and Claude were married, they moved to Queensland.
Gayle’s work experience was in retail management, and as a Pharmaceutical Rep.
She owned her own business which she loved for 9 years, a small store selling gifts, soaps, perfumes and lots of local craft.
In 1990, she and her husband Claude decided to make a move from the hustle and bustle of Sydney to a relaxed lifestyle on Bribie Island.
Coming from a family with various artistic talents as youngster, Gayle loved drawing; unfortunately, her schooling did not include art so it wasn't until 1970 that she started painting.
Her first teacher was Ronald Peters, who was very quickly nicknamed Ronald Two Trees as his landscapes always had two trees in them.
This came to a close after about 12 months due to allergies to the turps and mediums and it wasn't until the late 1980's that she discovered Acrylics and Decorative painting.
At this point, she started spending much time attending as many workshops as possible including travel to the USA to attend HOOT and later SDP Conventions. It has always been her relaxation as well as her passion and she soaked it up like a sponge.

In 1997, they lived in the USA for 12 months working on a new business in Foster City, California, but with a new business Gayle’s art had to be put on hold until they returned home.
Her first love was with oils, their creamy consistency, the open time for blending are just some of the things why she really enjoy painting with them.
She liked Acrylics for their quick drying and being able to float on glazes with the transparent colors, but her real love is the Genesis heat set oils.
They allow you to progress through the painting, correcting what maybe you feel is not quite what you want, heat setting and adjusting your work.
Adding shading and highlights are a dream it is an easy forgiving medium to work with.

Gayle has studied under; Tracey Simms, Ros Singleton, Chris Roy, Lindy Clarkson Judd, Donna Gilbertson, from Australia, overseas artists Johnnie Liliedahl, Ginger Rogers, Linda Coulter, and Lee Hammond are among the few of many.
In 2006 at the SDP Convention she and her friend Bette decided they wanted to take a simple class so they signed up for a class using colored pencils with Lee Hammond.
Lee Hammond was a forensic profiler on Americas Most Wanted but totally, unknown to them and neither of them had used colored pencils since we were youngsters.
It turned out to be a wonderful experience, they painted a Mountain Lion which now proudly hangs in Gayle’s studio office, Gayle say’s “one of the best workshop pieces I have ever done”.
Some of her favorite artists are Johnnie Liliedahl, Mary Kingsland, Lee Hammond and Linda Coulter

Her favorite subjects are right outside of her door, sea scenes, landscapes of white sandy beaches, boats sailing in the passage, the birdlife in her garden, and the beautiful colors of nature. Sounds like paradise!
Her studio is the size of a single garage as well as a nice study. The studio area is where all the messy stuff is done and then Gayle can sit with her OTT light at her desk for the rest of the painting.

Her inspiration comes from nature, where the beautiful colors are there at their best. She often drives around taking numerous photographs in her area of old buildings, houses, barns, boats things that she knows best.

Gayle is an honorary life member of the DFAQ which is the Decorative Folk Art Association of Queensland, the first and only one.
She has also been presented with two certificates for the work she did with them, which she exclaims was such a surprise and honor. Currently she is a member of SDP.
In December 2007, she and her friend Bette hired the Matthew Flinders Gallery on Bribie and held an exhibition called Friends Thru Art which included some of her students at the time. They were pleased with the sales from the exhibition and perhaps will hold another at a later date.
Gayle admits that it took her a long time to stop painting in the tight Decorative Painting style and get back to her fine art. Her advice to artists is to try to stay loose, attend as many workshops on technique that you can and enjoy what you do. Play with paint; learn to understand your color. Learn what you can do with opaques, semi opaques, and transparent colors. Learn how glazing brings out the colors underneath in your paintings, the importance of light and shade and reflected shading and highlights but the most important of all is enjoy what you are doing.
Remember beauty is always at your fingertips.
What does she have planned for the future? “Definitely, portraits, I love them and perhaps a snow scene, as I have never done one”.

Starting next year she will resume teaching a small class at the U3A, University of the third Age where anyone over 50 years may attend. The classes held there include languages, dancing, drama, literature, computer skills, mahjong, there are many classes available. There is a yearly membership fee of $10 then a weekly class fee of $3 for every class you attend, some classes run for an hour, two hours, and three hours, Gayle’s will be a three hour class and it is all volunteer. The instructors do it all for free.
She enjoys it so much because she feels that she is giving something back to the community. She has had a break of 2 years from this teaching but had previously done it for 3 years. It is the second largest U3A in Australia with over 600 active members and run completely by volunteers.
So what does Gayle do in her spare time besides painting? She tells us that she loves to swim, read and boat!
Her work is so unique and especially interesting because of where she lives, here is an artist that paints what she knows and does it beautifully! We wish Gayle much success in the future!
If you would like to contact her here is her email:
gaylex@bigpond.com

Let’s Talk about RED!!!!!

I love red…..it so strong, bold and really has something to say. Someone who wears it is telling us something about themselves. Red is the color of celebration and good luck in China, cleanliness and honesty in India and unlike most countries where black is the color of mourning in South Africa it is red.
Red naturally symbolizes romance, excitement, passion, danger, strength, masculinity, power, gaudiness, blood revolution, radicalism, Communism, aggression, energy, fire, sex, love, speed, heat, self-importance, aspiration, control, war, rage, respect, martyrs, the Holy Spirit, marriage in India, conservatism in US politics, wealth in China ,Liberalism in Canadian politics,.
Because of its intensity Red strikes a harmony with more cultures than many other colors.
Here is an interesting fact….color red also has been known to make people hungry…think about the places you have eaten where they have a lot of red decorations! MacDonald’s???
Scientists have shown that red can have a physical effect on the human body, including raising blood pressure and thus making the heart beat faster, increasing the rate of respiration, have you ever seen a hospital room painted red?
No, most hospital rooms are neutral or blue which creates a feeling of rest. Peace and tranquility in not found in a red room!
When you are painting with red it usually dilutes the colors around it because it is courageous and superior, it also typically makes whatever it’s painted on look larger, oh that is not a color I would want to wear!!!
Even a small area in a painting will draw in your eye to that area that is because it is a very dominate color.
The ancient Egyptians artists introduced the first two reds. Vermillion was made from cinnabar and madder was made madder root. Prior to this, palettes were black, white, and ochres.
Today we are fortunate to have many pigments that are available. Each has its own degree of permanency and individuality. Artist's quality paints are classified into series, indicated by a number on the tube, costing progressively more as the pigment becomes more expensive.
Cadmium red: A very strong, warm, opaque red. This is available in light, medium, and deep. Care must be taken when mixing with copper pigments as they tend to blacken the mixtures. To mix a nice warm orange mix this with cadmium yellow medium.
Quinacridone red. Also known as permanent magenta, permanent rose and red rose. To get a dazzling purple mix with ultramarine!
Alizarin crimson: A cool red, dark, transparent, with a slight tendency towards blue/purple. This can be added to other reds to darken them. This is a synthetic pigment related to traditional rose madder. Also known as alizarin madder, rose madder alizarin, and alizarin carmine.
Vermilion: This made from sulfur and mercury which is very toxic. Vermillion produces a bright, commanding red. The one problem with this color is it is prone to turning black in sunlight. In the past it has been a very expensive pigment, however it's now available as a hue. It is also known as scarlet vermilion and cinnabar vermilion.
Indian red: Made from natural iron oxide, it is a warm earth red with a propensity towards blue. Makes colors cooler when mixed.
Scarlet Lake: Also known as toluidine red, bright red, vermilionette. It is a powerful, bright red that tends toward blue.
Rose madder: Made from rose madder root. Also known as madder lake, madder pink.
Carmine: A traditional red that's fugitive, however we can now find it in permanent versions which is sold as permanent carmine.
Venetian red: Also known as red ocher, light red. Made from natural or synthetic iron oxide. It is a warm earth red with a slight inclination towards orange.
Earth reds these are also called red ocher, red oxide, mars red, burnt sienna, terra rosa, red earth. They are closely related to umbers and brown ochers.
Ok now that we know more about red what do we do with them? Well I for one will not be wearing a red dress anytime soon…but as artists how do we use them?
If you are doing a painting and you want to have a real visual impact paint your focal point red and place it near its complement color green. Red always advances and your picture and grabs the attention of the viewer.

What it takes to learn how to paint with oils.

Oils are a wonderful medium, so forgiving, if you don’t like something you just wipe it off before it is dry or paint over it if is dry. So what does it take to learn how to use this medium?
No one ever said that learning how to be good oil painter was easy. In fact it is one of the most difficult painting mediums to master. Before you can become a good oil painter you need to learn some basics like color theory and perspective which can be very daunting to a beginner. You have to learn all the fundamentals of oils painting and then practice ,practice, and practice some more! On top of that you have to realize this will take time, so if you don’t have patience then it may not be the medium for you.
Once you decided to take up this medium you will start out with the basics which are drawing, perspective, color mixing and theory.

Let’s look at these basics a little closer.
Drawing
Drawing is often something that we don’t think we can do and don’t really want to do. However, in order to be a great oil painter you need to be able to draw. When you are painting on a canvas you are actually drawing with your brush so it is good to know how to actually draw before you pick up that brush. There are so many great books out there that can teach you how to draw, just don’t let it intimidate you, jump in and you will be surprised how easy it can be with the proper instruction. Fear is the biggest obstacle you will have!
Color Theory
Color theory is something you cannot do without if you want to use oils, unlike bottled acrylics that are all mixed colors, your oils only come in a limited number of colors and to get other colors the only way to do it is to mix them. You can paint a great painting but if you don’t understand colors and how they interact with one another, their hue, temperature and intensity then your great painting may turn out to be a terrible painting. This is something that cannot be ignored, if you want to oil paint, you need to learn how to mix colors.
Perspective
Perspective will give you the knowledge to translate a 3-dimensional world onto a 2 dimensional canvas. If you don’t understand this you will never produce a believable oil painting.
Techniques
There are so many painting techniques that you can employ, do you want to paint wet on wet, alla prima or use a knife. It is very important to explore all techniques to you can find your own style. Look to the old masters for help, find the ones who catches your attention, then find information on the artist and study his methods. Choose one of his paintings and try to reproduce it, this has be a way of learning how to paint for centuries. The museums in Europe have allowed artists to sit and paint from the old masters paintings for leaning purposes for centuries. It is a wonderful way to learn.
Here again you can find so many great books and videos that will teach you these techniques, not to mention all the lessons on the internet.
We will explore more about oil painting in the coming weeks.

ARTIST OF THE MONTH MAXFIELD PARRISH

Maxfield Parrish prints have inspired millions because of the artist's unique way of using color. These unique and magical images will always have a permanent place in art history.
Early Years
Maxfield Parrish was born July 25, 1870 in Philadelphia, to Stephen and Elizabeth Parrish. His given name was Frederick but he would later adopt the family name Maxfield as a middle, and eventually a professional name.
In 1884 to 1886 his parents took him through Europe to see the great museums. While he was there he absorbed everything around him from the architecture and music to the machinery and nature. When his father began to notice his son's budding talent being a celebrated etcher and landscape painter he took him under his wing and taught him all that he knew. He was a great influence on him during his childhood.
Studies
Parrish began his formal studies as an architecture at Haverford College, but after his junior year he changed directions., and once again after a year changed direction and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
In 1894 he met a painting instructor named Lydia Austin at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry. They fell in love and by the years end they were married. They went on to have four children; Dillwyn, Max Jr., Stephen and Jean. A year after they were married he took some time alone to travel to Europe to study the masters in Paris, and be among the many others artists who were there to do the same. Parrish was drawn to such contemporary English artists like the Pre-Raphaelites, Rossetti, and Lord Leighton. Their influence helped to shape his artistic vision and had an impact on his blend of naturalism, whimsy and romanticism.
Early Works
It didn’t take very long for Parrish’s prints to get noticed. He credited a painting he did in 1896 called 'The Sandman' as being the most important work of art in his early career. This Maxfield Parrish print was presented in the 1897 annual exhibition of the Society of American Artist.
His first major commission was to decorate the home of the Mask and Wig Club for the University of Pennsylvania. His 'Old King Cole' mural along with others got the attention of many and before long Parrish was beginning to get recognition from his peers. This led to his first cover illustration for the magazine Harper's Bazaar in 1895. Many magazine illustrations would follow over the next two decades, including many for Century, Scribner's, Life and many more.
In 1897 he was commissioned by Way and Williams of Chicago to do some illustrations for children's books, following that he was asked to contribute to L. Frank Baum's first work; Mother Goose In Prose. He was very popular and every author wanted a Parrish illustration.
Maxfield Parrish was one of the most inventive painters of the early 20th century. His work cannot be boxed into any definitive category or school. He was a true art pioneer. The color “cobalt blue” was renamed “Parrish blue” to do homage to his penchant and proficiency in the use of the dazzling color.

In 1898 he designed his dream home he would call 'The Oaks.' It was located in Plainfield on a hill overlooking the Connecticut River Valley. The house brought about the attention of many journalists and suddenly he became the subject of numerous magazine articles. This brought about a new interest in his work.
He worked on illustrations for Edith Wharton's Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904), and Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonderbook of Tanglewood Tales (1910). Some of his illustrations were making the covers of such magazines as Collier's, Ladies Home Journal, Hearst and Century. Maxfield Parrish prints, calendars, greeting cards, and many other items were in high demand.
He spent the last thirty years of his life painting landscapes. Maxfield Parrish was commissioned in 1936 to provide illustrations for Brown and Bigelow, a calendar and greeting card company. In 1961, at ninety-one, he stopped painting due to his declining health. He died at 'The Oaks' in 1966 at the age of ninety-five. Even though he is gone his artwork will live on and on. Maxfield Parrish will never be forgotten.
Techniques
Parrish was creative in his use of color, particularly cobalt or “Parrish blue“. He would achieve this unique hue by glazing. The technique involved alternating between layers of oil color and varnish over a base image. He devised numerous unique methods of creation in his work, many of which have never been successfully duplicated by his contemporaries. One of his famous techniques involved the use of a large piece of cloth with a black and white geometric pattern. This piece of cloth was draped over a human model (often himself) causing the pattern of geometric shapes to be distorted. The model was then photographed. The artist would create a transparency of the picture, project it onto one of his pieces and, using black graphite on a white canvas, trace and fill in all the black sections of the projected photograph. The result was a remarkably realistic image of a person wearing a geometrically-patterned cloth.
A dazzling example of Parrish’s use of vibrant color is demonstrated in his work titled “Ecstasy”. It shows a young woman on a mountain top with a blue expanse of water below her. Her back is arched, her arms are extended behind her neck, and her chin is tilted upward toward the sky. Her dress and hair appear to be fluttering in a breeze. The woman seems to be leaning off the cliff, ready to set herself afloat in the air. It is believed that this piece was inspired by Parrish’s daughter Jean who, at the time, was growing into a woman and breaking free of family constraints. The use of Parrish blue in this painting is striking. It is in stark contrast with the white clouds, adding a dream-like and magnificent quality to the piece The subject’s pose suggests the artist’s passionate nature.

Parrsih Painting Techniques
Creating a masterpiece was not always as simple as the painter putting his brush to the canvas and creating a work of art.
There is always a process a painter had to go through to prepare his canvas for painting.
Preparation
Parrish treated his panels with linseed oil, than dried before painting. Next he would outline his drawing in pencil before the first strokes of his brush would touch the page. Next he applied an under painting of a transparent color strong enough to be the dominant color in that area. The under painting had to be done before he could continue. Then the panel was laid out in the sun to dry. It had to be completely dried or there would be the problem with blooming (cloudy white haze) that moisture caused.
The next step was an application of
The varnish was heated up so it spread out over the canvas much easier.
After the panel was dry he would lightly rub the canvas with a dampened cloth dipped in fine pumice stone. This was a way in which any dust particles clinging to the surface could be easily removed.
It also allowed the varnished surface to have a slight texture in which to hold the layers of color to follow.
The surface had to be washed with a wet cloth after it was completely dry before it could be re -glazed.
He used linseed oil as a thinner to keep the layers of glazing as thin as possible.

Painting
Using a small palette knife, he proceeded to thin the paint to the proper transparency.
The glaze was applied with a normal paintbrush creating shadows with the varnish to his liking
He built up his paintings layer by layer.
A painting was not complete without a thick layer of varnish.
Tools
He used a stipple brush to create smooth gradations between two colors.
Another useful tool he used was blotting paper. This technique was most often used in the texture of cliffs and rocks.
Cheesecloth was another tool Maxfield Parrish used frequently. He used it for wiping brushes and areas of glaze that were not perfect. He also used it to break up textures.
Although he used pencil knives mostly for black and white illustrations, they were useful for defining the finer areas of his color paintings as well.
Because the drying process could take a long time, he often painted a few works of art at the same time.

Beware……Don’t Lose Your Creativity!


An artist sits at her easel staring….wondering what is wrong. It’s not the painting because she has not produced a painting in months. However something is definitely wrong and she has this deep sense of hopelessness.
Not only has she not painted for ages but she is experiencing other things too.
She feels sad, anxious, or "empty". She feels guilt, worthlessness, and she has a definite loss of interest or pleasure in painting something that has been enjoyable for her forever. She experiences a feeling of being "slowed down" a decrease in energy and fatigue. To make matters worse she is having difficulty concentrating, making decisions remembering, and sometimes she has insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping, why get up???

What’s the problem?

Well one thing artists like other professionals experience is “Burn Out”. This sounds like what our friend has!It is not uncommon!
In 1993 a Psychologist identified some characteristics of a person who was experiencing “burn out”.
They often experience emotional exhaustion depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. They will display decreased energy, feel depleted of emotional resources, find they have a negative or callous attitude, are detached from others, and feel they are nonproductive and incompetent.
It can become chronic burnout, and it may range from mild to severe. Symptoms do tend to be progressive and go downhill over time if not attended to. Physical symptoms may include insomnia, tension, fatigue, low energy and even physical illness. Also it can cause moodiness, frustration, anger, helplessness emotional drain, cynicism,hopelessness, boredom, feeling out of control or overwhelmed, low self-confidence, tearfulness, resentment, anxiety, powerlessness, guilt, and a dread of work that we have loved forever!

Oh the list goes on, another characteristic of burnout is over focusing on the negative, withdrawal from friends and family, isolation, and totally disengaging from our art.
We may spend our valuable time daydreaming, desiring to quit work or escape. Our work may decrease in quality, with increased procrastination. We just don’t want to paint! We have less enthusiasm for our art, and a total lack of interest always finding things to do instead of painting.

Other factors which may contribute to burnout include having an identity exclusively based on work; you’re not worth anything if you’re not working and making money! If we take time to do something else we may think we are selfish or self-indulgent, after all we should be painting!!!

Creating an identity wholly based on one’s occupation certainly contributes to burnout and makes us a possible candidate for becoming a workaholic or compulsive worker.
Burn out can affect even the most enthusiastic artist, some of the great artists of yesteryear have had to deal with this, it is not new!
Artists need to learn how to combat this phenomenon, and to protect their welfare.
If you are in the middle of a “burn out“, relax there are ways to break through it.
Once you've identified the signs of creative burnout there are lots of ways to re-charge yourself. Identifying it is the first step, and sometimes it takes a while to do that!

Here are some ideas that may help.

One thing you can do is just walk away and take a break from it, just stop! Forcing yourself to create usually produces art that is less than good and can cause stress!
I have had times when I forced myself to paint all day and everything I did was pure crap! It has gone on for days at a time and in some people, it can go on for weeks and even months! What I find interesting about it, is that when we are in the deep throes of burn out we don't even know it most of the time and we go around wondering what in the world is wrong with us! If you are creative and you don't create, you actually can get physically ill.

A good idea would be to read about other artists, watch art videos, and take an art class to learn new approaches to painting.

Take a day or two off from your art every week. When you come back to it, you’ll feel energized and fresh again.

Change your media. If you use oils take up acrylics.

Use a pattern or instruction book from another artist to get a new way of looking at painting and gain new techniques.

Never put yourself down for not finishing something, treat yourself with kindness you deserve it!

Work on more than one project at a time. This will help keep more interesting thus, keeping boredom at bay.

Really, challenge yourself, paint something entirely different from what you have been painting. Push yourself to learn! Step out of your comfort zone.

Remember....Never compare your art with others, art is totally subjective.

Just because another artist is painting up a storm and selling does not mean your work is junk!

Remember that this is a gift; your creativity is a gift! God blessed you with this however; there is no rule that says you need to be an artist and paint everyday of your life at the expense of your well-being.

Sometimes we have been doing something for so long that the original joy we felt in the first place has just "burned out" if so we need to either pick ourselves up and get out of this hole or just give it up, if you choose to do that it is ok.
The important thing to remember is that it is your choice, your life and your decision!
Sharon Teal-Coray

Spring and Summer Color Forecast 2010

If you are a designer or an artist it is always good to know what colors will be popular in the coming months especially is you are selling your artwork and designs.
Pantone's color forecasts are almost as good as a crystal ball, when it comes to predicting the future. And the future looks bright and tropical. Pantone just released its Color Report for Spring+ Summer 2010, and we can brace for mini-explosions of their selected colors in the coming months, in both fashion and decor. Above is the complete chart featuring 10 hot color picks.

Color Wheel…it isn’t that hard to understand!

COLOR WHEEL



PRIMARY COLORS



SECONDARY COLORS


HOW TO MIX SECONDARY COLORS


During the many years of teaching art I often heard students talk about learning the basics color theory. Most thought it would be a difficult task to some it seemed a bit scary.
After hearing this many times I developed a program that showed my students just how easy it really was to learn color theory.
Let’s just look at some simple facts!

Most color wheels are based on three primary colors, three secondary colors, and the six tertiary colors created by mixing a primary with a secondary.

The PRIMARY colors are blue, red, and yellow.
These colors cannot be mixed.
The secondary colors are green, orange and violet. These are colors you need to mix.
Blue + Yellow makes green.
Red + Yellow makes Orange.
Blue + Red make Violet.
The tertiary colors are red-violet….red-orange….yellow-orange….yellow-green….blue-violet…..blue-green.
To create these you will:
Mix the primary color RED with the secondary color Violet and you will get a red-violet.
Mix the primary color RED with the secondary color Orange and you will get a red-orange.
Mix the primary color YELLOW with the secondary color Orange and you will get a yellow-orange.
Mix the Primary color YELLOW with the secondary color of Green and you will get a yellow-green.
Mix the Primary color BLUE with the secondary color Violet and you will get a blue-violet.
Mix the Primary color BLUE with the secondary color green and you will get a blue-green.
Next we have the Complementary Colors.
These are so important for the artist to understand and use!
When placed next to each other, complementary colors make each other appear brighter, more intense.
Add a touch of a complement color to its complement and it immediately grey’s or tones it down.
The shadow of an object will also contain its complementary color, for example the shadow of a red apple will contain some green. It is easy to remember these colors, first they are located directly across form each other on the colors wheel, but my students found it easier to remember them by my method: red and green compliments of each other are the colors of Christmas.
Yellow and violet compliments of each other are the colors of Easter.
Blue and Orange compliments of each other are colors for Halloween.
Cool and Warm Colors
Warm colors are based on yellows, oranges, browns, yellowish greens, reds, and oranges.

Cool colors are based on blues, greens, pinks, purples, blue-greens, magentas, and blue-based reds.
Here is where you need to practice identifying the warm and cool colors.
Once you have a basic understanding, you can then make a distinction between for example, a "warm green" and a "cool green". A warm green would be a yellowish green. A cool green would be bluer.
There are warm and cool versions of each color on the color wheel.
Warm colors are dramatic in nature. They are daring and full of life. Warm colors are those that tend to advance in space. If an element in your design needs to pop out, consider using warm colors to do that.
Cool colors are peaceful in nature. They give an impression of calm and rarely overpower the main content or communication of a design. Cool colors tend to recede; therefore, this is the colors you will use in the background.

In color theory you will find these terms:
A hue is the actual color with its qualities of yellowness and blueness.
Intensity is the degree of purity, or saturation of the color. The more intense a color, the more of the pure color is added.
A tint is a color mixed with white. The more white in a color the lighter is the value of it.
A shade is a color mixed with black. The more black is added to the color, the darker is the color's value.
A tone is color mixed with grey.

Neutral colors are grey, white and black. Beige and cream are often considered part of neutrals.

Monochromatic schemes(or single-color schemes) use one color and its variations for intensity and values. Neutrals are also considered part of monochromatic color schemes. Using this scheme, paintings look unified; to create even more interest, it's good to use some contrast.
In Harmonious Schemes, colors lie on the same side of the color wheel chart, hence the name "harmonious". Yellows and oranges, or greens and blues are two examples of harmonious combinations.

More to come!
Sharon Teal-Coray

Mini Tutorial How to Paint Water Drops

ANATOMY OF A WATER DROP

Sharon’s Technique for Water Drops

These water drops are painted on a green leaf and a pink flower.

I love to paint water drops and think it is very easy. The water drop is like the glass vase: less is better.
1. On the green leaf using the No. 20/0 script liner outline the water drop with Black Green.
2. Add shadow on the right side of the water drop with Black Green (this is outside the outline)
3. On the inside of the water drop next to the shadow area add some blending mixture, paint in some white and blend this so there are no hard edges.
4. Add a highlight of pure White on the upper left inside of the water drop for the lightest highlight. Do not blend this.

You will always start out by outlining the water drop with a dark color that is one or two values darker than the color of what the drop is on. So on the pink flower the color is a dark pink.


Reflected Light: light waves that bounce back to our eye from a surface rather that being absorbed into it.

Refracted Light: the separation of white light into bands of color seen when white light is passed through a prism.

Sharon Teal-Coray

Mini Tutorial How to Paint Eyes!

The eye has to be painted the right way in order for it to look round and real. Have you ever stood in front of a portrait and the eyes seem to "follow" you when you move from side to side? If you paint your eyes this way you will have those mysterious eyes and people will be amazed at how they will follow them!



Rules:
1. The whites are never really "white" add a bit of flesh color to make them look accurate. The true value of the white area is closer to the value of the skin tone.
2. The eyeball is a sphere, that means it is round like a ball, not flat like a CD. You will accomplish this by carefully placing your shadows.
3. The highlight dot should always be placed very carefully. It should be just barely touching the Iris, not inside the Iris. If you see two highlights in the eye, limit the highlight to the most prominent one.
4. The upper lid will cast a shadow onto the white area and the Iris, it runs under the lid and around the sides of the white area of the eye. Add a bit of grey-blue to the white color for this shadow.
5. The reflected light is "directly" across from the highlight dot.
6. The outer edge of the Iris is a tiny bit darker than the rest of the Iris.
7. The upper lid is shadowed on the sides leaving a lighter color in the center, this makes it look like it is following the form of the eyeball.

Sharon Teal-Coray

How can we become better artists?

A few days ago my husband and I were in our car going to dinner. It was a very grey day, as we waited for a light to change, a car just like ours turned the corner in front of us, my husband saw it and said why does that car looks so yellow, and it’s the same color as ours which is called Cool Vanilla. It looks like White with a touch of yellow in it, just a touch. It’s like buttermilk, so why did this same car passing in front of us look like it had a lot yellow in it?
Being an artist and knowing about color theory and what colors do to each other I could answer him. Being a very grey day, there was enough purple in the sky to make the car look more yellow than it was. This is what happens when two complement colors are placed next to each other, they compliment each other and make each other look stronger and brighter.
Now how do I know this? I am no genius; I have just spent many years studying art. I can never learn enough no matter how much I study. That is the attitude of artists who become better artists. The desire to learn is the first step to becoming the best artist you can be.
No matter where I am I am looking at things around me, I am sure my neighbors think I am certifiable because of the many times I have run out of my house to look at the sunset. I have even had them come out and ask what was going on…when I tell them I am looking at all the colors in the sunset they look up and act as if they have never even noticed the beautiful sunsets we get here in the winter.
I have almost run off the road looking at one that was making the mountains glow, all the drivers all around me didn’t even notice the purples, oranges and yellows that were in the sky and reflecting on the tops of the mountains. I have learned that sometimes I need to pull the car over so I can just look at the sky or the mountains.
When I first started to study art I carried a small sketchbook with me in the car so I could record what I saw. Drawing what I saw helped me remember it when I got back in the studio; I even had a set of colored pencils so I could record the real colors I saw.
Art is everywhere. The road is straight, the sun is round, the trees are all different shades of green not just one color! No two leaves are the same. No two flowers are the same shape or size. If you look at all this and find you are interested in learning more, then you have a creative nature. You can easily become a better artist. Study your surroundings. Learn about colors, shades, and how to use them. Buy a color wheel and learn about colors. Train your eyes to focus on composition, color, and value. Do not paint or draw as to how the object "should" look, rather than how it does look. Nothing is really what it looks like. Let’s look at white, for example; white may have other shades in it, sometimes you will see grey, purple yellow of a touch of red.
In your own yard you can study the trees, see how the sun shines on them and how they change colors as time moves, look at the shadows that are cast by them, see the colors in the shadows. Actually 'look' at things attentively, and mark it all down in your sketchbook.
Some are born with talent, they are the lucky ones, but art can be developed with study.
No two people are precisely alike. No two artists paint the same way, and no two see things in the exact colors. Art can be learned, discovered and can develop with the proper exposure. Just remember being an artist is not how well you can draw, but the emotion that comes out of it. Becoming a better artist just takes a lot of practice and study, study, study.
Things that will help you improve:

It is so vital as an artist to draw, you don’t have to be the best artist to draw but if you make a habit of it your work will improve.
Buy books on art education, go to Amazon and find used ones at great prices! I highly recommend "Drawing from the Right Side of The Brain". This is a great book to learn from. It is easy to read, and interesting, and you will amaze yourself at how fast you will be actually drawing.
Keep old drawings to encourage you as you see your improvement.
Find Internet sites about artists, art methods, drawing, and painting. There are so many Youtubes that are instructional, take advantage of them.
Read up on artists and visit art shows, books are nice however, the best way to view art is in person, there is so much more to a painting than the picture represented; of the surface, radiance, and other subtleties are only accessible in person. Often the greatness of the work is only apparent in these aspects.
Join a local art group where you can share with other artists.
Never stop trying to learn when you attain a level where you can make things look nice this is one of the first mistakes lots of artists make, they reach a level they are comfortable with and never get past it, they stop learning.
Remember Rembrandt and DaVinvi started from nothing and never stopped learning!
One of pet peeves is that some artists will just slop some paint a canvas and call it abstract art. Some people actually believe it is! This is simply an insult to artists who take time to study and learn by building a foundation of traditional rules.
Always create what speaks to you, listen to your heart.
Experiment with new ideas and techniques.
Study the art of the old masters they have so much to offer.
One way to improve is to take time for a "camera day", that is travel around your area and just take photos, of nature, people, animals, barns, trees, children all can be helpful for you. This will help you start seeing things differently.
If you are really serious and you really want to improve then you have to make time to create. I have had to make some changes in my life, I now know that in order to paint I don’t have to have my studio in perfect order; I try not to take too much time just “preparing” to paint. I try to get to it faster than I used to.
Help the area where you paint to be a place that inspires you. I love to have soft music playing in the background.
Let the sunlight in, open the windows and get some fresh air.
Have some plants in your studio, right now I have gardenias a lemon and lime tree blooming. In a few weeks I will have some Christmas cactus in bloom. These are so inspiring to me; they represent art from a higher power to me. They remind me that I have been given a gift of creativity and I should use it and improve on it.
Create something everyday even if it is a small painting, this will refine your talent.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with a new medium. If you work in oils try acrylics, or pencils. Experimentation leads to growth. While I was learning I tried every medium out there, each one increased my understanding of art.
If you are procrastinating then look at failure, are you afraid of failing? If so hug it. Realize that we all fail but without failure there is no success.
Learn from your mistakes, they are a wonderful learning tool!
Learn to be patient. It takes time to become an artist and to become a great artist!
If you want to learn how an artist is doing something ask them, most will be very helpful.
I love DVD tutorials, they are very inspiring! Use them to increase your knowledge.
Remember to improve takes skill that can be perfected over time.


The last word………………

You can learn everything there is to learn about art and about all the varied techniques in the world, but if you never put them into practice in your own artwork, there is no way you will ever become the artist you want to be.
Dedication, determination and hard work are the only answer to becoming a great artist.

Procrastination......I finally got it done!

Procrastination
It has been one of those days….one of many in a row. You get up with a lot of passion for your art and then for some reason you stop. I am sure if you have been an artist for any amount of time you have had this happen. You ask yourself what is the matter? Why can’t I get stated? Sometimes it seems that everything little thing that you can do to “Not” paint gets in the way.
Why do we put things off? Now I can understand why we put the things off that are pure drudgery, things that bore or to tears things that will take lot so of our time lengthy, or might actually be a challenge to us. However, why do we put of the most wonderful things in life we can do like painting?
Maybe some of us are afraid of failure, so if we don’t do it then we won’t fail. For me painting is an outlet that is so rewarding so why is it that I find myself in my studio just puttering around.
Investigating this problem I have found some interesting aspects of this problem and here they are.
Everyone procrastinates that is nice to know…its not just me! Many of us just put things off because we don’t want to do them. Some people just have too many other things on their plates. Putting things off is part of being human, some of are really bothered by this and others just seem to thrive on it!
What the saddest thing is that we actually sabotage ourselves. We put obstacles in our own path, and we in reality choose paths that hurt our performance. Have you ever met a person who don't pay bills on time, don't cash gift certificates or checks, file income tax returns late, miss opportunities to do things they want to do and shop for Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve?
Procrastinators are liars….they lie to themselves! One of the favorite lies is that they say such things as “I will feel like doing this tomorrow” or “I will wait because I know I will work better under pressure because I am more creative under pressure“. Or even they will say “these things really aren’t important to me”.
Procrastinators can be:
Rebellious
Maladaptive
Have a serious problem with self regulation
They are made not born
Procrastinators drink more
Procrastinators are not lazy or inefficient.
Procrastinators' views of time tend to be fairly unrealistic
For some procrastination is a lifestyle.


How We Do It!
I don’t know how others do it but I do know how I do it, I will often just try to ignore my project, maybe it will go away. I will ruminate for days about how hard it will be and how long it will take, often over estimating these two things. Next I will often Substitute something unimportant for something really important for example cleaning out the drawers when I should be painting.
Often I tell myself that I deserve a day off, and then one day off turns into a week!
Then there is the time I spend researching a subject I want to paint, getting more and more info until I am so confused that I just give up.
Of course there is the computer looming there….just calling me! I just wish I could not turn it on one day, however, I have found that simple task to be impossible!

So why do we do it!

Here are some reasons:
One of the greatest reasons is FEAR!!!
Fear of failure.Fear of success, fear of actually succeeding and then what! Both can be a reason for us to procrastinate.
What if the painting isn’t good, what if I can’t do it? What if I spend hours on it and no one likes it?
What if it turns out really good and then I will become successful and become a workaholic never seeing my family or friends, becoming a hermit in my studio. If I get better then other people’s expectations will increase and then I will have more stress and pressure….do I really want that?
These fears may be a conscious or subconscious part of us however they will paralyze us and keep us from doing what we love. If the anxiety becomes too much and overwhelms us then if we don’t force ourselves to take action we just may give up altogether!
There is another aspect of procrastination, it is perfectionism.
Often perfectionists think that it is better to give an apathetic effort and maintain the belief that we could have painted the great masterpiece than to give a full effort and risk painting a run of the mill painting. If we procrastinate then we can maintain our belief that we could maybe have excelled if we only tried harder.
I know that I procrastinate because I know as a designer, after the painting is done I have to write instructions for the project which is not my favorite part of being a designer!
So if I procrastinate I avoid of doing something I don’t like and I can do something I enjoy escaping the dreaded chore.

So now how on earth can we conquer this?

There are many strategies so we need to find the ones that will work for us. If one does not do the trick try another one until you find the right fit!
Our first step is to do what I have done here and that is to identify how you procrastinate. Figuring out exactly when and how you procrastinate can help you stop the behavior. Once you understand how you procrastinate, you will be able to catch yourself when you are doing it. I sometimes don’t even realize I am doing it until I have wasted a whole day!
In order to really get something painted you need to have the right space in which to work.
Your kitchen may not be the place where your creative energy will flow. It has to be some place where you are most productive and creative. I have found that I need a room where I can have soft music on or listen to an audio book helps me immensely.
However, I can take this to the extreme, by spending hours cleaning my creative space, and this just sabotages me!
Not that it isn’t a good thing to do this but if you never get to the real thing that is your true passion which is painting then why clean your creative area.

As you experiment with strategies for working differently and exploring why you procrastinate don't expect an overnight renovation. It took you a long time to develop the procrastination habit, you aren't going to stop overnight but you can change the behavior, little by little. step by step.
Instead of putting yourself down when you procrastinate you might want to start rewarding yourself for your small successes.
Procrastination can be crushed through some simple tips. First you need to become more aware of the self-defeating thoughts you’re constantly telling yourself about painting and by becoming better organized. Although the tips are easy, putting them into use takes practice and repetition.

One problem we often face is that we really don’t have any idea of how long it takes to do something. We imagine it will take much longer than it actually does. So we need to keep track of the actual time it does take to finish a project.
Never wait for the “right moment” You will be no better motivated in the future than you are right now, at this very moment, so get started. Your mood has nothing to do with your success.

Maybe it is a good idea to use a to-do list in an organizer. Some people hate them, some people can’t live without them but for the procrastinator they can go a long way to keeping your procrastination under control.
At the beginning of every day, make it a habit to start out by opening to that day in your organizer and reviewing not only that day’s tasks or appointments, but also review the entire week, make sure you don’t have any deadlines. Simply cross things off that are done, add things you need to do in the future, and rewrite the list once a week!
The real trick with using an organizer is that you need to make sure you keep it current.
You take back control of your life when you fight procrastination. This can be so very empowering!
Just think if you never did what you really want to do in this life, would you feel joy for the rest of your life or regret?
Look around at all the people who are great examples of lives well lived and time well spent. We need to copy the actions of those we admire and whose successes you would like to emulate. Allow the passion for who you really are show up in all of what you do. Surround yourself with winners, plan your life so it will inspire you to stay the path of your natural passions don’t ever lose your passion…it is who you are as an artist!

Sharon Teal-Coray

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Artist of the Month October












Self Portrait










Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres' portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest legacy.

A man profoundly respectful of the past, he assumed the role of a guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ascendant Romantic style represented by his nemesis Eugène Delacroix. His exemplars, he once explained, were "the great masters which flourished in that century of glorious memory when Raphael set the eternal and incontestable bounds of the sublime in art ... I am thus a conservator of good doctrine, and not an innovator."[1] Nevertheless, modern opinion has tended to regard Ingres and the other Neoclassicists of his era as embodying the Romantic spirit of his time,[2] while his expressive distortions of form and space make him an important precursor of modern art. To see moreof his beautiful work go to:
http://www.jeanaugustedominiqueingres.org/biography.html

Why are we afraid to pick up a pencil?

Are you one of the millions who would like to draw but can't? Is one of the reasons you are afraid that you will be laughed at if your try? Maybe your afraid that you may be criticized by your loved ones? Well you more than likely will be...but that should in no way stop you from trying.
Plus the criticism is often personal and has nothing to do with your skills what so ever.
Speaking from experience, I know how devastating it can be to work on something for hours only to have someone tell you it is not very good. They often are pretentious idiots that know nothing about art. So you just have to let it go and keep going.
Never let anyone tell you what your 'should" draw,just draw what you like and what you care most about. By doing this you will probably draw the same thing time and again and this will make it easier to see your mistakes each time and it will get better and better each time you draw it.
When I started out the only formal instruction I had ever had was the 3 years in my high school art class. We didn't have paints then but we did learn how to draw. Later on when I got more serious about my art I went to the library and got as many books on drawing as I could carry.
The more you read the faster you will move along with your drawing skills.
I found that most books were about the same, differing in how things were presented and how the authors styles looked different. Also some were easier to understand because the artist had a knack of explain himself and showing great demonstrations. Now I own several and one of my very favorite books on drawing is How to Draw what you See by Rudy de Reyna which still can be found on Amazon, even some used editions are available.
Read, study and draw and eventually it i will become a part of you. Learn all the tricks of artists that is available online, pay more attention to the style you like and soon you will be drawing with ease.
Visit your local craft or art store and pick up an acid free sketchbook and some pencils and charcoals. I have some drawings I did years ago on bad paper and they are now yellowed, they were good drawings but now they are ruined. So be sure to use acid-free paper.


Start with the cheapest scrounged materials for practice, but also get a sketchbook that has actual acid-free drawing paper. Even early on you can . There's a free site that offers comprehensive and deep lessons that is as
good as any college course and better than many. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ is a website set up by F&W Publications, which owns North Light Books and several good artist magazines -- Watercolor Magic, The Artist's Magazine and The Pastel Journal.

The classrooms are incredible -- often authors of good art books hold classes online there at every level. It's a lot like art college but free. As a community it's tremendously warm and helpful. the offer 101 classes some harder than others but if you are serious I strongly suggest you take the time to work through the classes.

Go slow through those 101 classes, you will have genuine social support in the drawing and painting forums by subject or medium. The community is very good for that. You can get help with anything that goes wrong in a drawing and you'll improve faster than you ever thought you could as you understand the tricks. They really are tricks. Art is a matter of a lot of separate skills most of which involve learning to see, so make an effort to
pay attention to what you see.
Every time we open our eyes we are inundated by massive amounts of
information. To stay sane we filer what's coming in so we don't get distracted by shapes and colors. If an artist wants to draw a subject they will filter out these things so they can see a lot more details.
We are are wired to work hard at something important to us and try repeatedly in sustained effort, then get some social recognition for our efforts.

Draw something everyday! some will be bad and some good, but any small success deserves a pat on the back, you are drawing. Fill that sketchbook!

Leonard da Vinci suggested that anyone who wants to draw well should go through a sketchbook a month. And this was a 100 page sketchbook!
Now remember that you are an "artist" your not just wanting to be one.

You don't need to pay to go to college to call yourself a student, you're taking online classes and learning the real skill, right?
Be aware of setting high expectations of yourself, keep them realistic. Don't become a perfectionist.
If your latest drawings are better than the last ones, be happy you are improving. Every day you draw you will find so many little discoveries and if you take the time to date your work you will be able to see how far you have come.
You will have turned into a person who can't draw to one who can.
Once on a trip with my 4 year old niece handed me a pad of paper and said "draw a cow" well this happens often, people assume you can draw anything without a reference.
Yet most realists will be able to draw pretty much anything from a photo reference or looking at the real thing doing but without these even a skilled artist who makes thousands of dollars a painting couldn't do it -- and would get stumped on things that aren't in their usual repertory. So on with my story, I was stumped I had never been around cows so I didn't really have a clue but I gave it a try, I handed it back to her and believe me it didn't look much like a cow, she looked up at me and said "I thought you were an artist"!

So the lesson here is to draw your favorite things and place. The ones that are fun to draw. The things you like in pictures, the things that you have in your life.
Learning to filter what you see as artists do will make everything in the world more beautiful. You learn to appreciate reality in ways that most people don't, and that leads to a better, happier life.
Sharon Teal-Coray

Georiga O'Keeffe

O'Keeffe was born in a quaint farmhouse near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.Her parents, Francis Calyxtus O'Keeffe and Ida Totto O'Keeffe, were dairy farmers. Her father was of Irish descent.[3] Ida Totto's father, George Victor Totto, for whom Georgia O'Keeffe was named, was a Hungarian count who came to America in 1848.[4] Through her mother, O'Keeffe was descended from Edward Fuller, one of the passengers on the Mayflower and a signer of the Mayflower Compact.[5]
She was the first girl and the second of seven O'Keeffe children. O'Keeffe's mother made her and her sisters attend art classes. Because her parents believed she did so well, they suggested she attend art school. She attended Town Hall School in Wisconsin, receiving art instruction from local watercolorist Sara Mann. She attended high school at Sacred Heart Academy in Madison, Wisconsin, as a boarder between 1901 and 1902. In Fall 1902 the O'Keeffes moved from Wisconsin to Williamsburg in coastal Virginia. Georgia stayed in Wisconsin with her aunt and attended Madison High School, then joined her family in Hollywood in 1903. She completed high school as a boarder at Chatham Episcopal Institute in Virginia (now Chatham Hall), and graduated in 1905. Education for women was a family tradition. Georgia's mother, Ida had been educated in the East. All but one of the daughters became professionals, attesting to her influence on them.In 1905, O'Keeffe enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1907, she attended the Art Students League in New York City, where she studied with William Merritt Chase. In 1908, she won the League's William Merritt Chase still-life prize for her oil painting mona shehab (Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot). Her prize was a scholarship to attend the League's outdoor summer school at Lake George, New York. While in the city in 1908, O'Keeffe attended an exhibition of Rodin's watercolors at the 291, owned by her future husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

In the autumn of 1908, discouraged with her work, O'Keeffe did not return to the League but moved to Chicago and found work as a commercial artist. During this period, she did not pick up a paintbrush and said that the smell of turpentine made her sick. She became an elementary school art teacher near Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.[6] She was inspired to paint again in 1912, when she attended a class at the University of Virginia Summer School, where she was introduced to the innovative ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow by Alon Bement. Dow encouraged artists to express themselves through harmonious compositions and contrasts of light and dark. His teaching (as well as that of Dow protégé Charles J. Martin) strongly influenced O'Keeffe's thinking about the process of making art. She served as a teaching assistant to Bement for several years, before returning to Texas to teach in the art department of the fledgling West Texas A&M University (then West Texas State Normal College) in Canyon just south of Amarillo. She was inspired to go there because of the natural beauty of the nearby large Palo Duro Canyon, carved by wind and water.

Early in 1916, Anita Pollitzer took some of O'Keeffe's drawings to Alfred Stieglitz at his 291 gallery. He told Anita the drawings were the "purest, finest, sincerest things that had entered 291 in a long while.", and that he would like to show them. O'Keeffe had first visited 291 in 1908, but had never talked with Stieglitz, although she had high regard for his opinions as a critic. In April 1916, Stieglitz exhibited ten of her drawings. O'Keeffe had not been consulted before the exhibit and only learned about it through an acquaintance; she confronted Stieglitz for the first time over the drawings and agreed to let them hang. Georgia O'Keeffe's first solo show opened at 291 in April 1917, with the majority being watercolors from Texas.
Shortly after her arrival in New York, Stieglitz took O'Keeffe to the Stieglitz family home at Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains. They would return to the lake home each summer for years to come, where Georgia would later produce many paintings of the Lake George countryside.
Stieglitz arranged for O'Keeffe to live in his niece's unoccupied studio apartment and cared for O'Keeffe while she was there. By July, he and O'Keeffe had fallen deeply in love. He left his wife Emmeline Obermeyer Stieglitz to live with O'Keeffe, and after he was divorced in 1924, they married. They spent winter and spring in Manhattan and summer and fall at the Stieglitz family house at Lake George.

Stieglitz had started photographing O'Keeffe when she visited him in New York to see her 1917 exhibition. He continued making photographs of her, taking more than 300 portraits between 1918 and 1937. Most of the more erotic poses were from the first few years of their marriage. In February, 1921, forty-five of Stieglitz's photographs, including many of O'Keeffe and some in the nude, were exhibited in a retrospective exhibition at the Anderson Galleries. The photographs of O'Keeffe created a public sensation.
During her early years in New York City, O'Keeffe grew to know the many early American modernists who were part of Stieglitz's circle of friends, including Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Paul Strand and Edward Steichen. Strand's photography, as well as that of Stieglitz and his many photographer friends, inspired O'Keeffe's work. Soon after she moved to New York, she began working primarily in oil, which represented a shift away from her having worked in watercolor in the 1910s. By the mid-1920s, O'Keeffe began making large-scale paintings of natural forms at close range, as if seen through a magnifying lens.
During the 1920s, O'Keeffe made both natural and architectural forms the subject of her work. In 1924 she painted her first large-scale flower painting Petunia, No. 2, which was first exhibited in 1925. She quickly completed a significant body of paintings of New York buildings, such as City Night and New York--Night, 1926, and Radiator Bldg--Night, New York, 1927.
Works such as "Black Iris III" (1926) evoke a veiled representation of female genitalia. O'Keeffe constantly denied painting vaginal imagery, but many prominent art historians have linked her work to feminist artists of the 1970s. Notably, Judy Chicago gave O'Keeffe a prominent place in her "The Dinner Party" work.

Beginning in 1923, Stieglitz organized annual exhibitions of O'Keeffe's work. By the mid-1920s, O'Keeffe had become known as one of America's most important artists. Her work commanded high prices; in 1928 six of her calla lily paintings sold for $25,000 US dollars, which was the largest sum ever paid for a group of paintings by a living American artist. This drew media attention to O'Keeffe as never before.
New Mexico

By 1928, O'Keeffe began to feel the need to travel and find other sources for painting. The demands of an annual show needed new material. Friends returning with stories from the West stimulated O'Keeffe's desire to see and explore new places. In May 1929, she set out by train with her friend Beck Strand to Taos, New Mexico. They went to Santa Fe and then to Albuquerque. Soon after their arrival, O'Keeffe and Strand were invited to stay at Mabel Dodge Luhan's ranch outside of Taos for the summer. O'Keeffe went on many pack trips exploring the rugged mountains and deserts of the region. On one trip she visited the D. H. Lawrence Ranch and spent several weeks there and painted "her now famous oil painting, 'The Lawrence Tree', which is currently owned by the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, CT".[7]
While in Taos, New Mexico in 1929, O'Keeffe visited the historical mission church at Ranchos de Taos. Although many artists had made paintings of the church, O'Keeffe's painting of a fragment of the mission wall silhouetted against the dark blue sky captured it in a different way.
Between 1929 and 1949, O'Keeffe spent part of nearly every year working in New Mexico. During her second summer there, she began collecting and painting bones, and started painting the area's distinctive architectural and landscape forms. Each fall she returned to New York.
In 1932 O'Keeffe suffered a nervous breakdown following an uncompleted Radio City Music Hall mural project that had fallen behind schedule. She was hospitalized in early 1933 and did not paint again until January 1934. In the spring of 1933 and 1934, O'Keeffe recuperated in Bermuda and she returned to New Mexico in the summer of 1934. In June of that year, she visited Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiu, for the first time and decided immediately to live there; in 1940 she purchased a house on the ranch property. The varicolored cliffs of Ghost Ranch inspired some of her most famous landscapes. Among guests to visit her at the ranch over the years were Charles and Anne Lindbergh and Ansel Adams.
A loner, O'Keeffe explored this place she loved on her own. She bought a Model A Ford and asked others to teach her how to drive. After one particularly exasperating moment, one of her teachers declared that she was unable to learn the art of driving. Only her determination was to lead to mastering her machine.
In the 1930s and 1940s O'Keeffe's reputation and popularity continued to grow, earning her numerous commissions. Her work was included in exhibitions in and around New York. In 1936 Summer Days, a painting featuring a cattle skull adorned with various wildflowers, against a desert background, was completed. It would become one of her most famous and well-known works. During the 1940s O'Keeffe had two one-woman retrospectives. The first retrospective was housed at the Art Institute of Chicago (1943). The second retrospective was held in 1946 at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Manhattan, the first retrospective MOMA held for a woman artist. O'Keeffe enjoyed many accolades and honorary degrees from numerous universities. In the mid-1940s the Whitney Museum of American Art sponsored a project to establish the first catalogue of her work.
In 1945 O'Keeffe bought a second home, an abandoned hacienda[8] in Abiquiu, some 16 miles (26 km) south of Ghost Ranch.[8] The Abiquiu house was renovated through 1948 and became the setting for many later paintings.
While O'Keeffe was spending the summer of 1946 in New Mexico, Stieglitz suffered a cerebral thrombosis. She quickly flew to New York to be with him. He died on July 13, 1946. She took his ashes to Lake George and buried them at the foot of a tall pine tree beside the lake. Although separated for long periods through the years, Stieglitz had taken care of many business details for O'Keeffe. She now had to take on these responsibilities.
In 1949 O'Keeffe moved to New Mexico permanently. During the 1950s she produced a series of paintings featuring the architectural forms--patio wall and door--of her adobe house in Abiquiu. Another distinctive painting of the decade was Ladder to the Moon, 1958. From her first world travels in the late 1950s, O'Keeffe produced an extensive series of paintings of clouds, such as Above the Clouds I, 1962/1963. These were inspired by her views from the windows of airplanes. Below is an external link to a color image of one of these aerial cloudscape canvases.
In 1962, O'Keeffe was elected to the fifty-member American Academy of Arts and Letters. In the fall of 1970, the Whitney Museum of American Art mounted the Georgia O'Keeffe Retrospective Exhibition, the first major showing of her work since 1946, the year Stieglitz died. This exhibit did much to revive her public career. It brought O'Keeffe to the attention of a new generation of women raised on the principles of feminism.
In 1971 O'Keeffe became aware that her eyesight was failing. At the age of 84, she was losing her central vision and only had peripheral sight, due to an irreversible eye degeneration disease. She stopped painting in 1972. Juan Hamilton, a young potter, appeared at her ranch house in 1973 looking for work. She hired him for a few odd jobs and soon employed him full time. He became her closest confidante, companion, and business manager until her death.

O'Keeffe dabbled in pottery herself, and had a large kiln installed at the ranch for firing pots. Even with her dimming eyesight, she was inspired by Hamilton and others to paint again. She hired a studio assistant to execute some of her ideas. During this time she agreed to accept interviews and other opportunities. In 1976 she wrote a book about her art, with Hamilton's help. She also allowed a film crew to do a documentary at Ghost Ranch.
On January 10, 1977, President Gerald R. Ford awarded O'Keeffe with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor awarded to American citizens.[9]
O'Keeffe became increasingly frail in her late 90s. She moved to Santa Fe, where she died on March 6, 1986, at the age of 98. O'Keeffe continued to paint only weeks before her death.[10] In accordance with her instructions, she was cremated the next day. Juan Hamilton walked to the top of the Pedernal Mountain and scattered her ashes to the wind, over her beloved "faraway".
Legacy

Following O'Keeffe's death, her family contested her will because codicils to it made in the 1980s had left all of her estate to Hamilton. The case was ultimately settled in July 1987.[11] The case, which was settled out of court, became famous as case law in estate planning.[12][13] A substantial part of her estate's assets were transferred to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, established in Santa Fe in 1997 to perpetuate O'Keeffe's artistic legacy. These assets included a large body of her work, photographs, archival materials, and her Abiquiu house, library, and property.
The Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.
Lifetime Television produced a biopic of Georgia O'Keeffe premiering on September 19, 2009, starring Joan Allen as O’Keeffe, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Stieglitz, Henry Simmons as Jean Toomer, Ed Begley, Jr. as Stieglitz' brother Lee, and Tyne Daly as Mabel Dodge Luhan.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My adventures with painting "Plein Air"!

Like all of my artist friends, I knew the day would come when I had to paint outdoors. I was not too excited about this because I don’t like heat or cold, and I especially don’t like wind.
But, everyone needs to experience Plein Air painting just once, or at least I thought they did.
First I had to get a lightweight easel that I could carry easily. Next a box to carry all of my supplies in. That was easy, a tackle box worked perfectly.
So with my car loaded up with all the supplies and a cooler full of water and sandwiches I set out with my friend Diane. She loved to paint out of doors, so this was not a new experience for her.
We decided on a local historical working farm. It was open to the public and the house was built around the turn of the century and it was really beautiful. There were horses, sheep, chickens, ducks and pigs on this farm, lots of pigs. Many good subjects to choose from. I decided to paint the old barn, a great looking structure just the right color of faded red.
I walked around the whole area looking for the best view, when I found the one I wanted I began to set up my easel and supplies.
First I discovered I did not have any place to put my palette and brushes ….darn I wish I had brought a T.V. table! My friend had a “French Easel” which has places for all the stuff we need…well I just had to make do.
I sat everything on the ground beside me; this was going to be fun…Wrong!
I set up my easel tapping the little pegs on each leg into the soft ground to make sure it would be stable. I put my rather large canvas on the easel and I was ready. Or so I thought… I should have brought my hat to keep the sun out of my eyes because you can’t wear sunglasses when you are painting out of doors and of course I forgot the sun block too! Oh well I will only be out here for a few hours so I figured I would be fine. I was wrong…Again.
The first thing I noticed were the “flies” yep all the animals were attracting the flies and they for some reason liked me and my canvas. It was annoying but Diane just said it was part of this experience and after a while I would get so involved in my painting I would not even give them a second thought. Wrong!
I got the sketch on the canvas with diluted oils and then blocked everything in when a bunch of school children on a outing surrounded me and stood watching while the teacher explained what I was doing, which was really interesting to me because I did not even know I was doing what she said I was. They stood there forever, I began to feel a bit uneasy and then I stepped on my palette and well you know the rest! This just delighted the kids and they thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen, I know my face was bright red now. Well at least I entertained them for a while. After cleaning the paint off my shoes and between my toes, of course I had on sandals, I started painting again. I thought that my skin seemed to be getting a little red……….
After about two hours I had a lot of paint on my canvas but did not particularly like what I saw, it was very messy and loose and I am a tight painter so to me it was not very good. The thing is that when you’re painting out doors you only have a few hours of the good light and when it starts to change the shadows change. The light changes and then you have to stop. So you have to paint fast!
The day was getting hotter my arms were looking redder and there was a little bit of wind that was starting up, now some artists love Plein air painting because it puts them directly into the natural surroundings they are trying to capture. Their close association with the scents and sights actually stimulates their creativity and makes the experience more enjoyable. The natural scents of pigs and manure just did not get it for me.
I was sweaty, hot, sunburned and spending lots of time hitting the flies off of me and my painting, and then I noticed that the oil had attracted some little flying bugs and they were all stuck in the paint making my work look like it had freckles.
So I scraped them off and added some more paint this time with my knife. I was getting desperate trying to create at least something to show for my time that looked half decent. Wrong again!
A big wind gust came up and blew my canvas onto my chest, I had a white shirt on and when I peeled it off of me I had a very nice work of art on my shirt, a little distorted but it sort of looked like an impressionistic painting. At this point I just threw my hands up and told my friend Diane that I was going home…. I was sunburned, sweaty, hungry ( we never did stop to eat) covered in oil paint…now that is what I call fun!!!! Wrong!

Second Try:
The next time I went out and yes I tried it again....don't ask me why. This time I was more prepared, I even had a big umbrella that clipped on my easel. No sun burn today! We were standing in a field by a little stream, it was really beautiful but before long the wind grabbed my umbrella and off went my little easel with my painting flying in the opposite direction.
I ran to grab it and when I reached down to pick it up guess what I encountered? A big old ugly water snake.If you know me you know that I am deathly afraid of snakes and spiders. We just don't do well together. I ran into rattle snakes too many times on my horse when I was a teen riding in the hills around my house. I was almost bucked off more than once when my horse shied sideways when a snake rattled at us! That was it for me, there was no way I could stay painting in a field where at any moment a snake could slither across my feet!


Third try....I know you are probably thinking "this lady does not learn from past experiences" and you would be right to think that! However I am the type of personality that if I fail at something I keep trying...so once again I decided to set up my easel at our family cabin. I just knew that this time was gong to be the charm...you know the third time. So I wanted to paint the sunset, and we had our cabin on the Provo river, well I must has the best blood around because the minute I started painting I was engulfed with very large mosquitoes, they were everywhere! All I could do was swat at them, so I did not get eaten alive...no way could I paint. However the paint brush was a good swatter and after I had swatted my canvas a few times I realized that I was painting like a modern aritst,you know the ones who just throw the paint on the canvas! By the time I got my stuff put away I had so many bits on me that I looked like I had the Measels but my painting actually looked quite good...that is if you like modern art! I wonder if I sould have kept that painting??? Maybe I could have sold it for a bunch of money.............
So now you have the whole story...I did finally learn a lesson and that was to NEVER paint outdoors again and I never have and I have never missed it!

Studio Lighting …

Years ago when I built my studio I decided I needed to have the best lighting possible. If my students and I were going to be able to capture something on canvas we needed to see the colors accurately. Artists have always considered lighting to be the single most important element in capturing a specific scene and it remains so. Inaccurate lighting of an object will give a strange look except, possibly, for Rembrandt's imaginative use of light.
Lighting can create a mood. This mood can set the spirit of the painting and make or break the realism of a scene.
To render your painting in a realistic way either in the studio or outdoors you need proper lighting.
When painting outdoors you don’t have to do anything, nature will take care of that you just have to know when to be there for the best light and return the same time each day until you finish your work.
Artists will often head out for their destination before the sun rises to be ready when that priceless moment occurs. Often they will be there just finishing up as the sun goes down trying to capture that incredible sunset. It’s all about light.
Fortunately we are not at the mercy of the sun going down or coming up. With all of today's options, we can recreate an image with photographs and work without the need of being outside.
Old masters would spend hours trying to capture the perfect moment before the light was gone.
However, times have changed; we how have other options for painting indoors? We can always work by north windows to get the soft flattering light we need but what if we don’t have a northern exposure.
We are lucky to have at our disposal many artificial alternatives. Incandescent regular fluorescent and full spectrum florescent lighting that is like sunlight are available to provide the proper feel and look we want.
When the replication of morning or late afternoon light is desired regular incandescent lighting has a warm, golden glow or temperature which is especially helpful for lighting still life setups or portraits.
If you desire more realistic light situations, those that closely mimic natural light, you can use the natural full spectrum fluorescent light, like the Ott lights. The Ott fluorescent tubes are available that balance the red and blue parts of the spectrum, and the light that is emitted compares very closely to outdoor sunlight at noon.
Regular Fluorescent lighting provides a light with a slightly greenish tint that is not very flattering to skin tones or whites. It is a cold light, where incandescent is warm. Clamp-on lights with flexible goosenecks and tungsten elements (incandescent) are the least expensive and offer lighting that is easy to take right to the spot it is needed. Swing-arm lights are available in either incandescent or natural
Ott lights come in many styles some with clamps that clamp to work tables, offering a long-reaching, swiveling hood. They hold their position with a compound tensioning apparatus of springs and joints. They also offer a small pop up light that sits on the table and can be taken to classes and workshops.
They also have floor standing lights some with magnifying glasses attached they can be moved to give light from any angle desired. The best for a large studio is overhead lighting. They are inexpensive and they are capable of filling a large area with good light. Although each 40-inch tube costs around $12 to $15, full spectrum tubes will generate a light that is most like natural light.
For the artist who does fine detail a Magnifying lamp may be exactly what your need. offer another advantage to. They not only illuminate a small, close work area, but enlarge it as well. A traditional fluorescent tube light with the normal temperature emission or a halogen bulb with clear white light I usually included with the added aspect of magnification. These lights are outfitted with a heavy-duty clamp to affix them to the worktable and a strong tensioning system that will to hold the light and magnification in the precise spot needed.

The cost of these may be from under $15.00 to over $100.00, but remember that this is one time cost. I have had my Ott lights for years and never have had to replace the bulbs.

Let Us Never Forget! 9-11

God Bless America

Illustration for simple skies and how color is such a determinging factor

By Linda Lover
Have you ever noticed how the sky can set the mood for an entire landscape painting? The choice of color can determine the weather or the time of day. Clouds can suggest a warm sunny day or an impending storm. There are snow clouds in winter and thunder clouds in summer. Sunsets and sunrises let us use colors from brilliant red oranges to subtle pink and mauves. Remember the mariner's saying "red sky in the morning, sailor's warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight".

Even plain blue skies have the ability to create a feeling of warmth or cold, day or night. A heavenly blue sky, in any season brings forth the glow of a pleasant day. A dark cloudless presents an atmosphere of dusk or evening. Speckling snow gives dramatic effect to a plain sky and can be done for daylight or evening landscapes. Pulling rain with the tips of a Black Gold wave or using a liner is another way to add interest to a painting.

Graduating the color of the sky is a blending process similar to that of the rainbow, where there is not a definitive line of color but a consistant blend of colors. This can be done with light and a dark compatible colors, even adding additional colors is an option, especially for the end of a sunset or beginning of a sunrise. This method has the ability to reflect distance or time of day.

Colors chosen for the sky can be present in trees, water, backgrounds or foregrounds to give a landscape consistancy. The colors can also be incorporated in shading and highlights.

This is a very basic example for skies considering that no two are probably ever painted exactly alike.

Linda Lover

Trust

I know this is not about art but I thought I would share it with you.

Forgetting to Trust©
By
Sharon Teal-Coray

My husband and I had planned our cruise to Alaska for months; we were excited to see the beauty of the land and all of Gods glorious creations. We have been on many cruises and many airplanes but this time was going to be so different.
We arrived at the long-term parking lot very early in the morning, every time we have used this lot, we drive in and there is an airport transfer bus waiting and watching for new arrivals but not this time. There were no buses and this made me feel a little uneasy but I figured they would be there so I parked the car and we unloaded the baggage. Standing in the early morning light, we watched as the sun came up it was a bright red-orange, what a remarkable sight! We had been having some forest fires in the area and smoke in the air made the sun look so beautiful.
Finally, the bus came, we loaded our luggage, and off we went thinking all was well. Arriving at the airport, we used the skycap to hurry things up a bit, even though we had lots of time.
Thinking we had that time we were shocked when we came upon the line to go through security, it was long and it snaked around ropes and poles at least 10 times! In all the times we had traveled, we had never seen such a long line. We moved very slowly and I told my husband that we were going to miss out flight, and asked him to go speak to the security officer that was standing near the front of the line and ask if we could go ahead of others who were on later flights. His reply was “you’ll be fine, you’ll make it”. As the minutes ticked off I was getting more agitated, because we only had 15 minutes until our plane took off. I knew we were in trouble!
Finally, we got through the checkpoint,ran to our gate and made it 10 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave. Relief, we made it!
However, this is where the relief turns to panic! As we gave our tickets to the lady behind the counter, she told us that our plane had left 10 minutes ago… ”What? My husband exclaimed, “What do you mean left…no planes leave early!” “Well yours did because it was full, we have been announcing this for the last 15 minutes” she replied.
We had been in a line where the speakers were not working so we never heard any announcements. There we stood at the end of the terminal of course (we have never been at one of the gates at the first,)only us, two attendants and one young woman was there and when she heard the news she just collapsed on the floor and started crying. I felt so bad for her, surly she must have some big event she needs to get to…. what a mess!
I asked the ticket agent when the next flight out was to Seattle; the next flight was at 9:00 pm that night. There was no way we could make it to our ship if we took that flight. Therefore, I asked her if there was anything they could do, we had to get to Seattle because our ship left port at 4:00p.m.
She got on her keyboard and found two different flights, my husband would go to Portland and get a connection then on to Seattle and I would fly straight through to Seattle and be there before he arrived.
Another problem, my husband has a condition he has had all of his life, he has trouble finding his way around, if he has an address when driving, he can find where he needs to go but, he doe not remember how to get there no matter how many times he has been there. I use “landmarks” and can visit a city and return and remember how to get to places just by the landmarks. He was diagnosed with this a few years ago, the problem with having this is that if he is in a new place and can’t find something it triggers panic attacks and he just freezes and can’t think. So knowing this I asked the woman if we could switch and send him on the direct flight, “No you can’t because all the luggage is checked in using his name”. She was referring to the luggage that was on the plane that had left!HUH?
At this point I was at my wits end, seeing there was no way to get to Seattle I just said, “well let’s just forget it”, my husband cannot do this it would be too upsetting for him.” The ticket agent looked a little taken aback, how many people would just say lets forget the cruise and lose the money we have spent on the airfare and cruise? I felt we really had no choice; I would not put my husband through this.
Promptly she found a way for us to change…why she did not do that when I first asked her was a mystery to me, but we finally made arrangements for my husband to fly directly to Seattle, and I would fly on another airline to Portland and then to Seattle and get there about 20 minutes later than he did.
So things were looking up, the poor woman who sat on the floor had been booked on a flight to a town close to Seattle. Her husband could drive an hour and pick her up, but she was still crying.
Now remember that there is no one in this area but my husband, me and the lady on the floor and two ticket agents. The rest of the flights were all gone, it was vacant but for us.
I walked my husband to the terminal where he was to board and I went to mine. When I arrived at gate 18 which I had been told to go to and was on my new ticket, it was vacant. I sat there for a few minutes then I went to the desk and asked if this was the flight to Portland. I was told that it was at gate 16 so I went and sat down at gate 16. I did not speak to anyone. I just sat there praying.
I had about an hour before we left so I went to the corner of the gate across from my gate. It was empty not one person around there were no flights scheduled to use that gate for hours. I wanted to use my cell phone to call my daughter but did not want anyone to hear me. I called her and told her what had happened and said that things were OK now but it had been a very upsetting morning.
We boarded our plane and because I had gotten sick the last few times I had flown, I placed a protective mask on. I did not talk to anyone on the plane; I just looked out the window. I was so glad I had the mask on because the woman next to me was sick coughing and sneezing the whole time!
Within and the next hour the pilot announced that we would be landing in Boise, Idaho in the next few minutes, Wait a minute…. Boise, Idaho? How did I get on this plane…was it not going to Portland? Then before that thought could be processed, he announced that the people who were going to go on to Portland would be asked to stay on board as we would be taking of shortly. OK, get a hold of yourself, try to stop your heart from beating so wildly all was going to be fine, but it would have been nice to know I was going to Boise first!
The landing was very rough, one of the bumpiest I have ever experienced, a little disturbing but what the heck maybe the pilot was just having a bad day too!
Breathing a little easier I waited for the plane to empty leaving only a few passengers going on to Seattle, I found a better seat farther up front so I could get off the plane faster. As I settled into my seat and adjusted the seat belt, the pilot came on the speaker again and told us to all get off the plane because it was broken! Well, I was glad it broke on the ground; I bet it was that lousy landing! They told us they would put us on another plane that would take off within the hour. By now, I am feeling just a bit scattered in my thinking and a little disgusted!
They handed me a ticket as I left the plane and told me to go to gate 14 where I would get on the plane to Portland. This area was packed with people from Boise and others trying to connect to Portland. I walked across from them to an empty gate, sat down to collect myself a bit, and just as I did the loud speaker came on and they announced that the flight to Portland would be delayed for 3 hours due to a problem with the plane!
Three hours to Portland then on to Seattle, well now I knew there was no way I would make it to meet my husband and get to the ship on time. Panic set in!
I called my daughter again, no one was within hearing distance of me and I did not want to call attention to myself as I was quickly loosing it, so I spoke very quietly. I told her what had happened and now we had a bigger problem, my husband would arrive in Seattle and I would not get there to meet him. He would not know what had happened to me. I needed to get word to him but how could I do that? She gave me a number to call so I could have someone meet him as he got off the plane and tell him what had happened. What were we to do then, we would have missed the boat!
I decided to make the call but because I was so upset about all that had transpired I thought maybe I had better find a seat at the right gate in case of some miracle they got us on a flight earlier.
I walked over to the area and it was so crowded, but I spotted a seat between two older ladies, I asked one of them if the seat had been taken and she replied, “No this seat is for you”,Looking back that was an odd remark. I thanked her and sat down and put my face in my hands and tried to regain some composure. When I looked up I saw a beautiful face looking at me, the lady on my left was smiling and she just looked radiant, her skin was so soft no wrinkles, but she was older because her hair was white she looked ethereal. I asked her if this was the right place to be for the flight to Portland.
She said, “ yes it is, but I know all about you and you don’t want to go to Portland, you want to go to Seattle right?” “Yes” I replied. Then she told me to get up and go over to the line at gate 15 where they were boarding a plane that would be heading straight to Seattle. “Maybe they can get you on that plane” she said. I think I was brain dead at this point but I got up and went to the desk. When I reached the desk my composure gave way, tears began rolling down my cheeks and I told them they had to get me on this plane. I explained my situation and how my husband would be waiting for me and when I did not get there on time he would not know what to do. The lady behind the desk immediately called the supervisor over, they fiddled with the keyboard, and she smiled and said, “We got you on!” I got the last ticket,the very last ticket! I could not believe it, I said, “ God Bless you both!” I immediately made my way to the end of the line to board the plane. Within the next few minutes, they were asking if anyone would give up their seat for $400.00I held my ticket to my chest and thanked God that I had it in my hands! I turned to wave at the nice lady, who had encouraged me to try to get on this flight, but she was gone, her seat was empty, where had she gone? Everyone around her was still sitting there waiting for that flight to Portland that would have put me in Seattle to late to join my husband on our wonderful cruise to Alaska, but this gentle lady who seemed to know all about me was gone!
Not until I was on the ship for a day did I think about what has transpired, then I started questioning how that lady knew all about me, and how I got the last ticket, and why did I not see that gate that was loading for Seattle?
My Husband and I spent some time discussing what had taken place and trying to figure out if there was anyway she could have over heard me, or someway she could have heard about what had happened to us. To this day, we cannot come up with any explanation, I now believe that she was sent from God, she was there to help me because I was in such need of someone to guide me.
I remember sitting on the plane and praying, I am a Christian who loves God and I know he loves me. I have had so many blessings in my life, but sometimes when things get tough,I forget one of the most basic things I have learned, and that is to simply trust Him. I try to fix things I cannot fix, getting all upset because I cannot fix them. I worry about things that I have no control over only to cause myself unneeded stress and unhappiness. The minute I remember to turn these things over to God, I find relief, and many times my prayers are answered. Maybe they are not answered in the way I want them to be answered but I know in my heart that God only does what is best for us, we just have to have trust in him!
This day will always be in my mind, this experience was such a good reminder for me that God is near, he knows us, and he takes care of us if we let him. He took care of my husband and I that day, I arrived only 10 minutes after he did, I saw him from across the big room where all the baggage comes out and I when yelled his name, he saw me and it was a moment we will never forget.
When we have trouble, we will remember to let God handle things and trust him to do what is best for us. That is what he wants us to do, trust Him.

Postscript:
The cruise was wonderful, we saw whales and eagles and beautiful glaciers, all part of God's handiwork!

People who are organized are just too lazy to search for things!

Well this has been my motto for a long time…but I have decided that I need to make some drastic changes. After getting rid of lots of junk at a yard sale now I have to get the things I kept organized because frankly I just don’t have the time to look for things anymore!
So I have researched this a bit and here are some things I have discovered. Maybe you will relate to this and maybe not, if not your already an organized person, good for you!
This surprised me; “Studies show that 80 percent of what we use comes from 20 percent of what we own“. That means that 80 percent of the things in our homes are RARELY or never used!

I made a list of what my lack of organization has caused me in the past.
1. I have spent too much time looking for things I have misplaced, and that time could be used to paint! Also this has caused me a lot of stress when I can’t find important things! (The poltergeist took them!) That was always a good excuse!
2. I have missed important deadlines…..simply because I didn’t have it written down someplace.
3. I have had trouble prioritizing because I can’t clearly identify what I need to do.
4. I can’t think clearly if I have so much clutter around me, so sometimes I do not get anything done!
5. I have wasted money buying duplicates of things I have already purchased, yes I have a few books, audio books and art supplies that I just had to have only to find I already had them!
6. I have been working in a cramped space when in reality I have a nice big office and studio but with all the things that need to be organized all around me I feel like I can’t move!
7. I have important things fall through the cracks!
So I am going to start…….
Looking at all the paperwork I have collected over the last 30 years is a bit daunting. However, if I start out slowly I may possibly be able to get this done. I need a plan of how I am going to get going so here is some ideas I think may work.
I am going to start out slowly; I know that there is no way I will be able to get this done in one day. I am going to do a little bit each day so I won’t get tired and discouraged. The task will be less overwhelming if I break the project into small chunks of time.

I am going to start with all the paperwork I have. Sheets and sheets of lessons and instructions from my days of teaching have been taking up space for too long. Some of them I cannot part with so this may be a bit of a trial. I am going to start with my files, one stack at a time. I am going to ask myself “Do I really need this, will I use it?” If so the files will go into the” keep” box. If not they go into the round file! Once this is done I will place all of the ones I want to keep into manila files and put them in alphabetical order in my file cabinet.
Next I have to sort through hundreds of art books and magazines. I have quite a collection, but am I going to use them at any time in the future? Now this is where I do have some real dilemmas, if I get rid of them and my granddaughters want to paint some day they would be great for them, but what if they never do? Should I keep them or throw them out. After some consideration I think I will take one day to go through them and tear out the most useful and best articles and file them under their category. That way I will keep what is really the most important to me and get rid of lots of articles that are only taking up space.
I am going to organize bookcases by placing similar materials together.
Now that all of my paper work is filed away I need to address the top of my desk, and table tops where I paint and surrounding areas. This is where I have had trouble, things just sort of pile up and before long I don’t have one square inch to put a bottle of paint on! I find myself painting in a tiny little space!!!
I think the secret here is that I need to keep things I use frequently close to where I work. Things I use rarely need to be stored farther away. The things I use only once in a blue moon should either be thrown out or stored far, far way in another room which would be the best place. Right now as it is I have things on the tables around my easel that I have not used for years…..now that is just plain obtuse.

Next on the list is to go through my paints, why is it that when I need a certain color I pick up the bottle only to find it empty and then put it back in the rack? I am scratching my head on this one?
I am going to get rid of the empty bottles and make a list of what colors I am out of and replace them with new bottles…what a treat!

Now that I will have all the paints up to date, I have to face the “Brushes”, OK I will admit that I do have a problem, I cannot throw a brush away. I have brushes from the 70’s! Some of them are not even good for cleaning the grout in my shower but for some reason I just don’t seem to be able to toss them. I know I have to do this insurmountable task. It is just plain bizarre to keep these.
I will label everything, binders, mementos photos, etc.
Next I am going to round up all the warranty and instruction manuals for everything in my house; I can’t tell you how many times I have spent precious time searching for these.


So now when all of this is done I need to have a plan to keep it this way. Here are my ideas on how to do this; I pray that I can keep it up!
Each day I will spend 15 minutes just cleaning clutter that has accumulated to prevent getting back into the same rut.
I will refuse to let anything to start piling up, it is so easy to just stick something here or there instead of putting it away, but I know that if I don’t follow this rule I am sunk.
I am going to buy a big calendar where I can list things I have to do each day.
As soon as I get a new magazine, I am going to take the articles I really love and want to keep, file them and then toss the magazine.
Say "No" more often. The best way to get off-track is to say "Yes" to every request I get.
I won’t buy anything unless I have a place to put it.
I am going to schedule several appointments for the same day instead of spreading them throughout the week. This will give me more time to paint and will reduce travel time. If I leave the house for an appointment my whole day is done, I usually won’t come home and start painting.
I think that keeping a pair of scissors near where I read newspapers and magazines will really be helpful.I can easily clip those articles I wish to save.
I am going to keep only one project or file open on my desk at any time. There have been times I thought I lost something only to find it in another file. Can you feel the stress!!!!!
When I am unsure about what to do with a document, I am going to ask myself what I would do with this if I had to move in a week.
At the end of the day, I am going to clear the top of my work areas, putting everything in its place. The next morning I will be welcomed by a clean, organized studio or office.
In doing all of this I hope to enjoy a more spacious, attractive and comfortable working environment. A better organized studio or office will almost always look like you have more room be even if you don't eliminate anything!
Hopefully I will quickly find what I am looking for instead of wasting time, be better able to keep up with my workload because I will be more productive. Maybe it will help unlock my creativity giving me more emotional energy. I will feel better about myself a cluttered, disorganized studio or office is not the image I want for myself plus it makes me crazy~
So I am going to give it a try and keep my fingers crossed. This time next month I am going to be a super organized lady! You Betcha~
Sharon Teal-Coray

A few weeks ago I talked to an old friend, she had been in a local art group I was in many years ago. While talking to her I learned in all of the years I have not seen her she is still painting in her kitchen. My question is "WHY"?
She is a very talented lady, but hearing this made me sad. I started thinking about the big studio I have and how blessed Iam to have my own sacred space.
My studio is just that, “sacred’ because it is where I can go and actually find a place to rest,relax create and re-connect with God. A sacred place is indispensable for creating my art. Every artist needs a special place where they can create.
We have always had to share our home with our family, if we set our artwork up in a kitchen, for example, we are just asking to be interrupted and probably many times! This can happen even if we have a special room but the chances are less likely than if we are sitting where everyone can see us.
Here in lies the problem, often we just don’t feel that we deserve a special place, we feel like we are being selfish when we defend our right to do something for ourselves.
There is such a thing as “healthy” selfishness”, it is OK to say I need this space and I need this time for my art. It leaves me in a much better mood if I can have this space and time! As an added benefit, husband is the beneficiary of my happy mood so being selfish is not so bad!
Once you realize that you deserve this you have to make some changes. The first change is that you have to believe you do “deserve” it! For many of us that is a big step and the hardest part!


If you want to paint, sew, scrapbook or write you need a room where you can set everyting up and have it ready when the creative desire is there. If you have to set up and clean up your supplies every time you want to be creative you will find that you don’t do it as often, it is just way too much trouble!
If you simply don’t have an extra room, maybe you can use a screen to separate off a part of a room, or section off a room in the garage.
Once you have set up your scared space you will need to set up some rules, people in your household will need to respect those rules. When I am working, I ask that Iam not disturbed unless the house is on fire. I will take phone calls only if I am at a point where I can without disturbing my creative process. Sometimes I get so into what I am doing that I feel if I am interrupted I will lose something with my work.
If you are a professional artist who works at home, you face a lot of challenges that can cut into your time, often family and friends don’t understand that you are “working” . They think you are not serious because you are home so they feel free to call or drop in. However, if you are doing this as a job it is even more important to set up rules.
I think we have a hard time giving ourselves permission to take time for ourselves. We have always been the caretaker in the family; we are there to nurture everyone except ourselves. Our society teaches us to be in charge of so many things, the house, meals, emotional and physical well being of our children and husband often ingnoring ourselves.
This teaching of being the nurturer has some negative effects on us. Being there for everyone except ourselves quickly depletes us,our energy levels drop and so does our creativity.
I am a super woman….or so I thought! I worry about everyone in my family, I was raised to believe that I should never ask for things or help, if I wanted something for myself I was told that I was being selfish. I often find myself refusing help from someone just because I don’t want to be selfish.
I have finally found the truth and that is, every time I refuse to let someone do something for me I take away his or her satisfaction of giving to me. Now that is “selfish”. However, it took many years to learn this.
Therefore, as I get older I have to be a little selfish with my time, however it is a healthy selfishness. I have found a good balance. I know that I need to be creative to be happy; if I can’t have time to myself, I am just a big glob of stress!
So back to my dear friend….how sad that she is still in her kitchen painting, I know for a fact that she has lots of space and could make a special scared place for herself but she is the epitome of a selfless women who does not believe that she deserves better. I will include her in my prayers.
Sharon Teal-Coray

SAFETY IN OUR STUDIOS

General Safety Tips, General Precautions

1. Substitution
Substituting safe materials for more hazardous ones is the most effective precaution. General rules include:

a. Always choose water based or latex paints and other products over solvent containing ones whenever possible

b. If solvents must be used, Material Safety Data Sheets can be used to choose the least toxic ones.

c. Choose products that do not create dusts and mists. Avoid materials in powder form or aerosol products.

d. Avoid products containing cancer causing chemicals whenever possible.

2. Personal Hygiene

Practicing good hygiene in the studio is one of the simplest and least practiced ways to avoid exposure to toxic substances.

a. Never eat, drink or smoke in studios and other environments where there are toxic materials. Dust settles in coffee cups, vapors can be absorbed by sandwiches, and hands can transfer substances to food and cigarettes. Cigarette smoking is especially hazardous because some substances inhaled through a cigarette can be converted by the heat to more hazardous forms.

b. Keep eating and living areas separate from working areas.

c. Wash your hands thoroughly after work, before eating, using the bathroom and applying make-up.

d. Wear special work clothes and remove them after work. If possible leave them in the workshop and wash them frequently and separately from other clothing.

e. Never use tuluene, turpentine, kerosene, or other solvents to remove paints, inks, or stains on your hands. If soap and water is inadequate, use baby oil or a waterless cleaner. Follow with soap and water and a lotion to prevent drying.

f. Before leaving studio, wash under you fingernails. Keep a nailbrush near your studio sink. Keep nails trim and clean; do not bite or pick nails.

g. Never hold brushes or tools in your teeth or mouth

h. To prevent mechanical accidents, recognize your physical, emotional and mental limits. Eat and sleep appropriately. Decreased alertness, often due to hunger or fatigue is a major cause of accidents.

i. Get an annual medical checkup with a physician trained to recognize work related health problems.

3. Keep studio clean and organized

Continuous, diligent monitoring and cleaning of the studio reduces the risk of accident and fire. Maximize hazard free space in the studio by designating a minimal area where potentially hazardous materials are used.

a. Do not use cleaning methods which raise dust. Wet mop floors followed by vacuuming, and sponge surfaces.

b. Have available the types of face, eye protection, gloves, wash-up facilities, and first aid equipment needed to clean up hazardous spills.

c. Clean up small liquid spills immediately. Wear protective clothing, especially gloves and a mask, when cleaning up toxic spills. If in an emergency, rags, sawdust or paper is used to mop up flammable spills, place soaked materials in a sealed fireproof container. Preferred cleaning materials include activated charcoal, diatomaceous earth, or cat litter (free of deodorizing chemicals). Once liquid has been absorbed by these nonflammable materials, dispose of them in a heavy-duty trash bag.

d. Keep the studio clean and free of hazards such as objects, debris, or wet, slippery floors. Trying to work on litter strewn tables reduces the effective control over tools and equipment, leading to careless actions. The most common circumstance to accidents is carelessness.

e. Properly stored tools remain in good condition longer. Maintain all equipment and tools in good working order.

f. Keep extension cords and hoses off the floor by coiling them onto a hook when not in use.

4. Ventilation

Effective ventilation is essential to making art safely.

Ventilation is the primary environmental issue that affects artists who work with hazardous materials.

Poor ventilation means that toxic materials in the form of dusts, fumes, gases, mists, or vapors can be inhaled. Agents can be absorbed in nose and mouth, some get to the lungs, and a few are absorbed into the circulatory system. Additionally, the accumulation of vapors from flammable liquids can create a potentially explosive situation.

Appropriate ventilation provides protection for artists so that many art materials can be used without threat.

A common recommendation on product labels is USE ONLY WITH ADEQUATE VENTILATION. Such a nonspecific phrase is of little help.

A blowing rather than exhausting fan in the studio may reintroduce toxic chemicals into one's personal intake area instead of carrying them away. Taking work outdoors to be sprayed or blowing vapors out a window with a strategically place fan may not be sufficient. Airflow varies with wind, temperature and air pressure. In many instances, ceiling mounted down-draft or reversible fans do more to stir dusts, fumes and vapors into personal intake areas than to provide effective ventilation.

Some artists mistakenly believe that airborne substances they encounter are heavier than air, and are therefore found closer to the floor. However, floor fans can bring substantial quantities of undesirable substances to one's personal intake environment. To improve ventilation significantly, floor fans must effectively dilute or remove contaminated air from the workplace.

Fire Safety

Fire hazards have been found to be the greatest problem in artist studios, particularly due to poor solvent storage.

1. Purchase in as small a quantity as possible. Although larger containers might b cheaper, having large quantities of flammable or combustible liquids around is a serious fire hazard.
2. Do not smoke or permit smoking in any studio containing flammable or combustible liquids. Flammable vapors can travel considerable distances, resulting in fire hazards in other parts of the studio.

3. Keep all sources of ignition away from flammable liquids. This includes flames, sparks, static electricity, hot metal surfaces and electric element.

4. When pouring flammable liquids from large metal drums into metal containers, connect the two metal containers together with wire to bond them. This prevents the build-up of static electricity, which can ignite the flammable liquids. The metal drum should also be grounded with a ground wire leading to a ground such as a tap or a radiator.

5. Store flammable or combustible solvents in safety cans. For dispensing small amounts of solvents, store the solvents in spring loaded dispensers.

6. Make sure all electrical equipment is in good repair and adequately grounded. All wiring and equipment should meet standards of the NFPA's electrical code.

7. Fans in local exhaust ventilation systems should have non sparking or nonferrous blades, and the motor and controls should be outside the path of the vapors or be explosion proof.

8. Do not use gas fired space heaters unless the heater is approved for use in the presence of flammable materials.

9. Waste flammable or combustible liquids should be stored in approved solvent disposal cans, while awaiting proper disposal.

10. Solvent soaked rags and paper should be stored in self closing oily waste cans or other closed metal containers. These should be emptied daily.

11. Do not store flammable or combustible liquids near escape routes from studios.

12. Keep a dry chemical or carbon dioxide fire extinguisher on hand for emergency use.

13. Clean up spills of flammable liquids immediately.


Storage of Art Materials

1. Clearly mark bottles, boxes, and storage containers as to their contents, hazards, and date received and opened.

2. Use marked, unbreakable containers whenever possible. Do not use food product containers. This prevents accidental ingestion of chemicals that do not have warning odors.

3. Keep all original or unbreakable containers tightly closed except when using them in order to prevent escape of dust or vapors.

4. Keep a current inventory of all materials on hand, their locations and date of purchase in order to dispose of materials with limited shelf life. Some chemicals even become explosive with age. Ideally, store materials in amounts that will be used within two months.

5. Purchase flammable or combustible materials in small quantities. Although larger containers might be cheaper, large quantities of these materials can be a serious fire hazard.

6. Post locations of flammable or highly toxic materials.

7. Apply good housekeeping. Have cleaning supplies for handling of spills on hand. If respiratory protection , gloves, or other personal protective equipment are needed, have these in the studios at all times.

8. If chemical corrosives or chemicals are stored, be prepared with an eye was station or emergency shower.

9. Have fire protection or extinguishers available which are approved for fires caused by the type of chemical stored.

10. Never store any material which you are not prepared to control or clean up if it spills.

11. Make safe storage and disposal an ongoing part of your work, with seasonal cleanings and reevaluations.

12. Organize storage wisely. Do not store large containers on high shelves. Never store hazardous chemicals directly on the floor or above shoulder height.

13. Store flammable or combustible solvents in fire safety cans. For dispensing small amounts of solvents, store the solvents in spring loaded dispensers.

14. Store chemicals that are highly toxic if ingested (for example, mercuric chloride and sodium cyanide) in a locked cabinet. Store flammable and combustible materials such as acetone, petroleum distillates, turpentine, and other solvents in specially designed OSHA-approved fireproof cabinets. Keep the cabinets closed; vent if required by local regulations. Explosion-proof refrigerators also decrease the risk of fire or explosion.

15. Store reactive chemicals separately and separate materials that may react if inadvertently mixed. For example, bleach mixed with acid or ammonia may create highly toxic potentially lethal gasses.

16. Do not dispense or mix chemicals in or near the storage area.

17. Ventilate the storage room. Keep it cool and keep chemicals out of direct sunlight.

18. Know your local regulations. Some areas limit the amount of hazardous materials, especially flammable solvents, that may be stored.


Disposal of Art Materials

Purchase in as small a quantity as possible. Although larger containers might be cheaper on a per volume basis, having large quantities of toxic and flammable materials around is more of a hazard, and disposable of leftover amounts is a problem. Also, if an art materials in powdered form comes in a paper bag or sack, store the opened bag in a metal or plastic container with a lid. You can also empty the bag into the container.
Store rags in a metal fire-proof container, empty daily. Hang oily rags in a well ventilated area (outside). Another alternative is to place them in a pail of water. When dry dispose of in regular weekly garbage pick-up.

Aqueous liquids, such as acid and alkali solutions used in photography and printmaking, should be neutralized ( baking soda for acids; citric acid for alkalis) before they are slowly poured down the sink with lots of running water. Always dilute concentrated acids by pouring the acid into the water, never the reverse, to prevent the acid from splashing.

Organic solvents, such as turpentine and mineral spirits, should not be poured down the drain because they kill bacteria that break down other waste products. Some solvents can be recycled, which greatly reduces the amount to be disposed:

1) Slowly pour used or dirty solvents through fine steel mesh, or a coffee filter, inserted in a metal funnel and into a receiving can.

2) Cap and clearly label the container as to what it contains and when it was retrieved.

3) Package the dirty solvents and chemicals in the filter in a sealed container, and dispose of it through regular trash pick-up procedures.

For small quantities, such as less than a liter, let solvents evaporate. Prevent inhalation by placing evaporating solvents under a fume hood or outdoors where the material is secure from children.

For large quantities of solvents and solvent containing materials, contact your local fire department. Solvent soaked rags and papers should be put in a metal container. At the end of the day, hang them in a safe place outdoors to allow evaporation. Discard them them in a sealed, flame-proof container. Do not use plastic containers because many solvents will dissolve them.

If you are uncertain about what you can throw in the garbage, the best solution is to take materials/waste to Household Hazardous Waste.

Methods of Waste Disposal:

There are a variety of methods of disposing of waste materials, including recycling, treatment, pouring it down the drain, evaporation, ordinary landfills, and taking it to Household Hazardous Waste. Some of these options do not apply to the most hazardous waste.

Recycling: Many waste art materials can be reused or used by someone else. Left-over art materials can be donated to an art center or secondary school. Hazardous materials should never be donated to an elementary school, and highly toxic materials like lead glazes should not be recycled. (see above on turpentine recycling)

Sewage System: Concentrations of copper and zinc ions, although not classified as hazardous waste, are controlled by sewer codes. Solvents should never be poured down the sink.

Landfill: Non hazardous solid waste materials can be placed in the regular trash for carting to a normal landfill. Some toxic materials can also be placed in the trash, including clay, metals, and paint residues. Glazed pottery can also be placed in the trash if it does not leach toxic metals.

Hazardous Waste Disposal:

Many communities now have household hazardous waste collection programs. See your county or city phone listings for a local collection site.

Recommendations for Disposal of Art Materials:

Aerosol Spray Cans

Make sure they are completely empty by spraying, and if they are aluminum, place in recycle bin. Otherwise, place in garbage.

Clay, minerals

Recycle or place in garbage Glaze Chemicals

Recycle or use hazardous waste collection

Liquid Glazes

Recycle if possible. If the glazes contain toxic, leachable metals, use hazardous waste collection; otherwise place in . garbage.

Dyes, Powders

Recycle or place in garbage

Glues and Cements

Water based - Allow to dry, and place in garbage

Solvent based - Allow to evaporate in safe place then place in garbage.

Metals and Compounds

Metals, alloys - Recycle or place in garbage

Compounds - Recycle or use hazardous waste collection . for toxic materials; garbage for others.

Paints, Varnishes, Stains

Water based Recycle or allow to dry, then place in garbage; for toxic pigments, use hazardous . waste collection.

Solvent based

Recycle.

Less than one pint; allow to evaporate in safe place, then place in garbage; for toxic pigments, use hazardous waste collection. More than 1 pint; hazardous waste collection.

Pesticides

Hazardous waste collection. Containers, once completely empty, should be triple- rinsed and placed in garbage; rinse water can be used as pesticide.

Photochemical

Concentrates - Recycle or use hazardous waste collection

Plastics resins - Recycle or use hazardous waste collection for large amounts. Smaller amounts can be reacted to form solid plastic.

Solvents

Liquid only - Less than 1 pint; evaporate in safe place. More than 1 pint; recycle or use hazardous waste collection. Chlorinated solvents (or mixtures containing them) should be collected separately from other solvents.

Solid containing - Let settle, filter and recycle.

This information set forth herein is furnished free of charge and is based on public domain information that is believed to be reliable. The City of Tucson makes no warranty as to the completeness or accuracy thereof. The information is to be used at an individual's own risk.

Lynette Jones AZ

Oh No Not Again…… I Can’t Paint!

It is morning I am sitting in front of my canvas and by looking at the clock I have been fiddling around here for a few hours. I have been sorting through some photos I took, looking at magazines, cleaning my painting knives, re-arranging my brushes and dusting…yes I said dusting! What is the problem? I had this day planned and now here I am wasting my precious time.
I got up with the intention of spending the whole day in my studio painting, oh what a glorious day to do it, the sun is streaming in my windows and sky is blue, my laundry is done, the house is acceptably clean so why aren’t I painting?
It is because the nuisance is back….the artists block!
Some artists say they never have it and don’t believe in it…but I am here to tell you that as sure I have ten fingers on my hands there is such a thing as a “Creative Block”.
I think every artist will experience this at one time or another. You can be painting along with things going smooth you love what you are doing and you finish a painting. The next time you sit down to paint it hits you. You feel like you have no desire to even pick up a brush, you can‘t even figure out what to paint let alone paint it!….What happened?
You have the dreaded block! But I have discovered that it really isn’t the horrible thing we think it is. It is just the time for your brain to take a rest, being creative take a lot of energy…brain energy eventually it needs to rest.
You need these down times, a time for your brain to cultivate new ideas. So when it happens just let happen. I tried to force it and just keep painting but nothing I did helped and everything I did looked like a kindergartener had done it!
I have found that at this time I just need to do something else! But for the best results I have found that I need to do something that is NOT creative. Something that is completely in a different realm. I like to clean and organize my studio, or my kitchen, this gets my mind off the fact that can’t paint. However, the reason I can’t paint is because I have run out of ideas period!
My mind needs to have time to come up with some new ones and once I have given it a rest it starts coming up with all sorts of things, it is very exciting when this happens and a period of high creativity always follows this down time.
So there you have my personal solution for “Creative Block” just don’t fight it. Let it be go with your life and it will return with great ideas you thought you would never have again!
Sharon Teal-Coray

ARTIST OF THE MONTH ... Alphonse Maria Mucha

Alphonse Maria Mucha was born in the town of Ivančice, Moravia (today's region of Czech Republic). His singing abilities allowed him to continue his education through high school in the Moravian capital of Brünn (today Brno), even though drawing had been his first love since childhood. He worked at decorative painting jobs in Moravia, mostly painting theatrical scenery, then in 1879 moved to Vienna to work for a leading Viennese theatrical design company, while informally furthering his artistic education. When a fire destroyed his employer's business in 1881 he returned to Moravia, doing freelance decorative and portrait painting. Count Karl Khuen of Mikulov hired Mucha to decorate Hrušovany Emmahof Castle with murals, and was impressed enough that he agreed to sponsor Mucha's formal training at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Mucha moved to Paris in 1887, and continued his studies at Académie Julian and Académie Colarossi while also producing magazine and advertising illustrations. Around Christmas 1894, Mucha happened to drop into a print shop where there was a sudden and unexpected demand for a new poster to advertise a play starring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographed poster within two weeks, and on 1 January 1895, the advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou appeared on the streets of the city. It was an overnight sensation and announced the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris.[2]. Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of that first poster that she entered into a 6 years contract with Mucha.
Mucha produced a flurry of paintings, posters, advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs for jewellery, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what was initially called the Mucha Style but became known as Art Nouveau (French for 'new art'). Mucha's works frequently featured beautiful healthy young women in flowing vaguely Neoclassical looking robes, often surrounded by lush flowers which sometimes formed haloes behind the women's heads. In contrast with contemporary poster makers he used paler pastel colors[3]. The 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris diffused the "Mucha style" internationally.Of which Mucha said'I think it made some contribution toward bringing aesthetic values into arts and crafts '[4] He decorated the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion and collaborated in the Austrian one. His Art Nouveau style was often imitated. However, this was a style that Mucha attempted to distance himself from throughout his life; he insisted always that, rather than adhering to any fashionable stylistic form, his paintings came purely from within and Czech art[2]. He declared that art existed only to communicate a spiritual message, and nothing more; hence his frustration at the fame he gained through commercial art, when he wanted always to concentrate on more lofty projects that would ennoble art and his birthplace.
Mucha married Maruška (Marie/Maria) Chytilová on June 10, 1906, in Prague. The couple visited the U.S. from 1906 to 1910, when their daughter, Jaroslava, was born in New York City. They also had a son, Jiri, born on March 12, 1915 in Prague – April 5, 1991 in Prague) who later became a well known journalist, writer, screenwriter, author of autobiographical novels and studies of the works of his father. There he expected to earn money to fund his nationalistic projects to demonstrate to Czechs that he had not "sold out"[2]. He was supported by millionaire Charles R. Crane, who applied his fortune to promote revolutions, and after meeting Thomas Masaryk, Slavic nationalism. The family then returned to the Czech lands and settled in Prague, where he decorated the Theater of Fine Arts, contributed the murals in the Mayor's Office at the Municipal House, and other landmarks of the city. When Czechoslovakia won its independence after World War I, Mucha designed the new postage stamps, banknotes, and other government documents for the new state.
Mucha considered Le Pater his printed masterpiece, and referred to it in the January 5, 1900 issue of The Sun Newspaper (New York) as the thing he had "put [his] soul into". Printed on December 20, 1899, Le Pater was Mucha's occult examination of the themes of The Lord's Prayer and only 510 copies were produced.
The Mucha window in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral was designed in the early 1930s
He spent many years working on what he considered his fine art masterpiece, The Slav Epic (Slovanská epopej), a series of twenty huge paintings depicting the history of the Czech and the Slavic peoples in general, bestowed to the city of Prague in 1928. He had dreamt of completing a series such as this, a celebration of Slavic history, since he was young. Since 1963 the series has been on display in the chateau at Moravský Krumlovat the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic.
The rising tide of fascism in the late 1930s led to Mucha's works, as well as his Slavic nationalism, being denounced in the press as 'reactionary'. When German troops marched into Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1939, Mucha was among the first people to be arrested by the Gestapo. During the course of the interrogation the aging artist fell ill with pneumonia. Though eventually released, he never recovered from the strain of this event, or seeing his home invaded and overcome. He died in Prague on July 14, 1939 of a lung infection, and was interred there in the Vyšehrad cemetery.
By the time of his death, Mucha's style was considered outdated. However, his son, author Jiří Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his art. Interest in Mucha's distinctive style experienced a strong revival in the 1960s (with a general interest in Art Nouveau)[5] and is particularly evident in the psychedelic posters of Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, the collective name for two British artists, Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, who designed posters for groups such as Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band.
In his own country, the new authorities were not interested in Mucha. His Slav Epic was rolled and stored for twenty-five years before being shown in Moravsky Krumlov and only recently has a Mucha museum appeared in Prague, run by his grandson, John Mucha.
It has continued to experience periodic revivals of interest for illustrators and artists. It is a strong acknowledged influence for Stuckist painter Paul Harvey whose subjects have included Madonna and whose work was used to promote The Stuckists Punk Victorian show at the Walker Art Gallery during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial. the japanese manga artist Naoko Takeuchi released a series of official posters depicting five of the main characters from her manga series Sailor Moon mimicking Mucha's style. Another manga artist, the 1962 born Masakazu Katsura has also mimicked Mucha's style several times. Comic book artist and current Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada also borrowed heavily from Mucha's techniques for a series of covers, posters, and prints. Grindcore and sludge metal band Soilent Green used a picture by Mucha for the cover of their album Sewn Mouth Secrets.
One of Mucha's paintings, Quo Vadis or alternately Petronius and Eunice, was the subject of a legal dispute in 1986. The judgment handed down by Richard Posner describes parts of Mucha's life and work biographically.
Among his many other accomplishments, Mucha was also the founder of Czech Freemasonry

What is a painting and Palette Knife

Have you ever wondered what the difference is in a palette knife and a painting knife?

Many artists think they are the same but they are different . A palette knife is a long spatula and it is used to mix paints. It usually had a longer blade which is completely straight, with no bend in it. These knives are also useful for scraping and cleaning up unused paint after a painting session. They are not used to paint with.

A painting knife is a springy, shaped, metal spatula used for painting instead of a brush. The handle has a large bend in it which takes your hand away from the painting surface and helps keep your knuckles out of the wet paint . That is why I prefer a painting knife to mix my paints with.
How to buy a knife
Most of all, you're looking for a painting knife with a flexible blade that has a good spring or bounce to it. A painting knife with a narrower blade will bend more than a knife with a wider blade. You never want to bend your knife backwards, this will result in the spring of the knife breaking down and bending.
The blade has to be just right, too flimsy will make it hard to control, to stiff will limit your strokes. Metal is more springy than plastic.
The handle should be smooth and comfortable to hold. It should feel well balanced in your hand. Make sure that the blade of the knife is well attached to the handle.You don't want it to rotate.

Painting knives come in numerous shapes and each one produces different results. A short blade will allow you to produce angular strokes while a long blade makes it easy to put down larger areas of color.
Holding you knife firmly is important. Once you have found a comfortable position
use your wrist to change the angle of the knife in relation to your paint. Pick up some paint off your palette using the back side of the tip, as you'd pick up some butter with a knife.
Mix your paint using a side to side motion, do not turn the knife over to mix with. Only use the backside of the knife to mix and paint with. Use the side of the blade to spread paint across your canvas, or press it onto the canvas, as you would spread butter across a slice of bread. It'll seem strange at first as it's quite different to using a brush and lots of fun, it is a great way to loosen up your work.

Understanding Color Theory...Let's Make It Simple!





What would our world be like without color? I can’t imagine black and white mountains, flowers or woodlands…how boring would that be?
We all tend to take color for granted because we have understanding of it without any mental effort.
Colors create emotions; they can create the soothing effect or great excitement! As artists, we cannot afford to take color for granted because it is one of our major tools. We must understand it thoroughly so we can use it appropriately and judiciously in our paintings.
We need to understand exactly what color is, and how it is produced.

So What is Color?

Color is the feeling produced by the action of the white light rays received by the retina of the eye and interpreted by the brain. These white light rays, traveling from the sun in varying wavelengths contain all of the beautiful color that we see in our world of viewing. This is a very complex system for receiving these rays, and through the marvels of sight, we see them as colors!
The same light rays create our world of form, there is no shadows or dark area if you don’t have light to create them.
As a teacher for many years I had to develop a way to teach “color theory” and I will be sharing what I have used here in the next several weeks with you so you can understand and enjoy colors!

Sir Isaac Newton while working on a telescope noticed that sunlight or white light was broken into different colors when it passes through a prism. This is a very simple triangular glass object that has the ability to separate the light rays into individual colors. These are the colors of the "spectrum".This is the same as we see in a rainbow, I have several crystals hanging in my studio windows, I love at the end of the day when the sun is setting to see all the rainbows dancing all over the walls.
Newton noticed that there were seven of these colors from the prism, they are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Newton wanted to prove his findings so he projected these colors back through another prism and guess what the result was?....White Light!
Now this was noticed by other scientists and they discovered through their experiments that other colors could be create by mixing different combinations of red, yellow and blue...the primary colors. Newtons studies were only with light rays and not with paint pigment. There was no white or black that are so important in today's world of paint mixing.
Today's pigments are solid substance ranging from transparent to opaque. Each color has it own light absorption and reflecting abilities.
So now the questions is "what is light"? Scientists tell us that light is electromagnetic energy that is produce by the sun in different wavelengths, all of them traveling about the same speed.
However, due to the variation of the wavelengths there is visible light and invisible light. The visible light is the white light that gives us color and form, it is not visible to the eye until it strikes and object and is reflected back to the eye by that object. The molecular structure and pigmentation of each object determines how the rays will be mixed, absorbed, or reflected.
A surface that is shiny or glossy will reflect more brightly than a surface like velvet which is dull. Dark objects will absorb more light rays, thus they will reflect fewer light rays back to the eye. Light objects reflect more rays and give off much more brilliance of color and intensity of highlight.
















Now we understand what light and color is we need to have a way to organize them into a easy workable system in order to use them properly. The use of color is a highly personal matter. No matter how many color charts you look at as a guide, you will always find that your own preferences will influence you. That is why we so so many different types of art.
In 1898 an artist and teacher named Albert A. Munsell organized the informatin discoverd by Newtone by creating a color charitn system. This allowed the artist to see the colors of the spectrum and to use them for planning andmixing. This is now called the Munsell System and is the most widely accepted system in the world.
Using his system made it possible to discuss color scientifically. He defined color in terms of Hue, Value and Chroma. Hue was defined as the actual color, red, blue, green, etc. Value was defined as how light or dark a color is. Chroma was defined as how strong or weak a color is. He published a standard color atlas defining the Munsell Color Standard which, before his work, had been an impossible task.

More to come!

ARTIST OF THE MONTH FRIDA KAHLO

"In 1953, when Frida Kahlo had her first solo exhibition in Mexico (the only one held in her native country during her lifetime), a local critic wrote: 'It is impossible to separate the life and work of this extraordinary person. Her paintings are her biography.' This observation serves to explain both why her work is so different from that of her contemporaries, the Mexican Muralists, and why she has since become a feminist icon.
"Kahlo was born in Mexico City in 1907, the third daughter of Guillermo and Matilda Kahlo. Her father was a photographer of Hungarian Jewish descent, who had been born in Germany; her mother was Spanish and Native American. Her life was to be a long series of physical traumas, and the first of these came early. At the age of six she was stricken with polio, which left her with a limp. In childhood, she was nevertheless a fearless tomboy, and this made Frida her father's favourite. He had advanced ideas about her education, and in 1922 she entered the Preparatoria (National Preparatory School), the most prestigious educational institution in Mexico, which had only just begun to admit girls. She was one of only thirty-five girls out of two thousand students.

"It was there that she met her husband-to-be, Diego Rivera, who had recently returned home from France, and who had been commissioned to paint a mural there. Kahlo was attracted to him, and not knowing quite how to deal with the emotions she felt, expressed them by teasing him, playing practical jokes, and by trying to excite the jealousy of the painter's wife, Lupe Marin.

"In 1925, Kahlo suffered the serious accident which was to set the pattern for much of the rest of her life. She was travelling in a bus which collided with a tramcar, and suffered serious injuries to her right leg and pelvis. The accident made it impossible for her to have children, though it was to be many years before she accepted this. It also meant that she faced a life-long battle against pain. In 1926, during her convalescence, she painted her first self-portrait, the beginning of a long series in which she charted the events of her life and her emotional reactions to them.

"She met Rivera again in 1928, through her friendship with the photographer and revolutionary Tina Modotti. Rivera's marriage had just disintegrated, and the two found that they had much in common, not least from a political point of view, since both were now communist militants. They married in August 1929. Kahlo was later to say: 'I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a streetcar knocked me down... The other accident is Diego.'

"The political climate in Mexico was deteriorating for those with left-wing sympathies, thanks to the reactionary Calles government, and the mural-painting programme initiated by the great Minister of Education Jose Vasconcelos had ground to a halt. But Rivera's artistic reputation was expanding rapidly in the United States. In 1930, the couple left for San Francisco; then, after a brief return to Mexico, they went to New York in 1931 for the Rivera retrospective organized by the Museum of Modern Art. Kahlo, at this stage, was regarded chiefly as a charming appendage to a famous husband, but the situation was soon to change. In 1932 Rivera was commissioned to paint a major series of murals for the Detroit Museum, and here Kahlo suffered a miscarriage. While recovering, she painted Miscarriage in Detroit, the first of her truly penetrating self-portraits. The style she evolved was entirely unlike that of her husband, being based on Mexican folk art and in particular on the small votive pictures known as retablos, which the pious dedicated in Mexican churches. Rivera's reaction to his wife's work was, however, both perceptive and generous:

Frida began work on a series of masterpieces which had no precedent in the history of art - paintings which exalted the feminine quality of truth, reality, cruelty and suffering. Never before had a woman put such agonized poetry on canvas as Frida did at this time in Detroit.
"Kahlo, however, pretended not to consider her work important. As her biographer Hayden Herrera notes, 'she preferred to be seen as a beguiling personality rather than as a painter.' From Detroit they went once again to New York, where Rivera had been commissioned to paint a mural in the Rockefeller Center. The commission erupted into an enormous scandal, when the patron ordered the half-completed work destroyed because of the political imagery Rivera insisted on including. But Rivera lingered in the United States, which he loved and Kahlo now loathed. When they finally returned to Mexico in 1935, Rivera embarked on an affair with Kahlo's younger sister Cristina. Though they finally made up their quarrel, this incident marked a turning point in their relationship. Rivera had never been faithful to any woman; Kahlo now embarked on a series of affairs with both men and women which were to continue for the rest of her life. Rivera tolerated her lesbian relationships better than he did the heterosexual ones, which made him violently jealous. One of Kahlo's more serious early love affairs was with the Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky, now being hounded by his triumphant rival Stalin, and who had been offered refuge in Mexico in 1937 on Rivera's initiative. Another visitor to Mexico at this time, one who would gladly have had a love affair with Kahlo but for the fact that she was not attracted to him, was the leading figure of the Surrealist Group, André Breton. Breton arrived in 1938 and was enchanted with Mexico, which he found to be a 'naturally surrealist' country, and with Kahlo's painting. Partly through his initiative, she was offered a show at the fashionable Julian Levy Gallery in New York later in 1938, and Breton himself wrote a rhetorical catalogue preface. The show was a triumph, and about half the paintings were sold. In 1939, Breton suggested a show in Paris, and offered to arrange it. Kahlo, who spoke no French, arrived in France to find that Breton had not even bothered to get her work out of customs.
"The enterprise was finally rescued by Marcel Duchamp, and the show opened about six weeks late. It was not a financial success, but the reviews were good, and the Louvre bought a picture for the Jeu de Paume. Kahlo also won praise from Kandinsky and Picasso. She had, however, conceived a violent dislike for what she called 'this bunch of coocoo lunatic sons of bitches of surrealists.' She did not renounce Surrealism immediately. in January 1940, for example, she was a participant (with Rivera) in the International Exhibition of Surrealism held in Mexico City. Later, she was to be vehement in her denials that she had ever been a true Surrealist. 'They thought I was a Surrealist,' she said, 'but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.'

"Early in 1940, for motives which are still somewhat mysterious, Kahlo and Rivera divorced, though they continued to make public appearances together. In May, after the first attempt on Trotsky's life, led by the painter Siqueiros, Rivera thought it prudent to leave for San Francisco. After the second, and successful attempt, Kahlo, who had been a friend of Trotsky's assassin, was questioned by the police. She decided to leave Mexico for a while, and in September she joined her ex-husband. Less than two months later, while they were still in the United States, they remarried. One reason seems to have been Rivera's recognition that Kahlo's health would inexorably deteriorate, and that she needed someone to look after her.

"Her health, never at any time robust, grew visibly worse from about 1944 onwards, and Kahlo underwent the first many operations on her spine and her crippled foot. Authorities on her life and work have questioned whether all these operations were really necessary, or whether they were in fact a way of holding Rivera's attention in the face of his numerous affairs with other women. In Kahlo's case, her physical and psychological sufferings were always linked. in early 1950, her physical state reached a crisis, and she had to go into hospital in Mexico City, where she remained for a year.

"During the period after her remarriage, her artistic reputation continued to grow, though at first more rapidly in the United States than in Mexico itself. she was included in prestigious group shows in the Museum of Modern Art, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 1946, however, she received a Mexican government fellowship, and in the same year an official prize on the occasion of the Annual National Exhibition. She also took up teaching at the new experimental art school 'La Esmeralda', and, despite her unconventional methods, proved an inspiration to her students. After her return home from hospital, Kahlo became an increasingly fervent and impassioned Communist. Rivera had been expelled from the Party, which was reluctant to receive him back, both because of his links with the Mexican government of the day, and because of his association with Trotsky. Kahlo boasted: 'I was a member of the Party before I met Diego and I think I am a better Communist than he is or ever will be.'

"While the 1940s had seen her produce some of her finest work, her paintings now became more clumsy and chaotic, thanks to the joint effects of pain, drugs and drink. Despite this, in 1954 she was offered her first solo show in Mexico itself - which was to be the only such show held in her own lifetime. It took place at the fashionable Galeria de Arte Contemporaneo in the Zona Rosa of Mexico City. At first it seemed that Kahlo would be too ill to attend, but she sent her richly decorated fourposter bed ahead of her, arrived by ambulance, and was carried into the gallery on a stretcher. The private view was a triumphal occasion.

"In the same year, Kahlo, threatened by gangrene, had her right leg amputated below the knee. It was a tremendous blow to someone who had invested so much in the elaboration of her own self image. She learned to walk again with an artificial limb, and even (briefly and with the help of pain-killing drugs) danced at celebrations with friends. But the end was close. In July 1954, she made her last public appearance, when she participated in a Communist demonstration against the overthrow of the left-wing Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz. Soon afterwards, she died in her sleep, apparently as the result of an embolism, though there was a suspicion among those close to her that she had found a way to commit suicide. Her last diary entry read: 'I hope the end is joyful - and I hope never to come back - Frida.'"

- Text from Edward Lucie-Smith, "Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists"

Entering Art Shows

All righty then…..let’s enter an art show!

Come on have you ever wanted to just give it a try??? I bet you have if you’re an artist. Anytime you enter a show it is a wonderful means of gaining validation and recognition. It is nice that we have our family and friends behind us encouraging us but appreciation from strangers is another thing all together! Another perk to entering shows is it is a wonderful way to of building up a resume. Winning an award will further your chances, and just think of how many people will see your work increasing the opportunity of sales and getting into galleries.
When I started entering shows I started out with smaller shows in my areas and the surrounding states. I found that it was much easier to enter non juried shows first and them move onto the juried exhibits. Unfortunately one drawback to non-juried shows is that they tend to have a wider variety of entries ranging from poor to excellent, making it difficult to evaluate the quality of artwork. The non- juried show will give you an opportunity to get your feet wet, but a juried show will give you the chance to learn what the judges are looking for and to see what your completion is and it always looks better on your resume.
Now after you have spent a few years entering local shows take a leap and start entering prestigious national juried shows. I did exactly this; I took the leap and sent an entry to the largest western art auction and show in the world, the C.M. Russell show in Great Falls Montana, to my utter surprise and delight I got in! My art was accepted and it was auctioned off at an astounding price of $900.00. That was more then I ever expected!
Plus this opened so many doors for me, and my career was launched. Now you need to know that by the time I did this I had been accepted in many shows and won numerous awards so I had a very impressive resume to go along with my entry.

Entering shows on this level are extremely tough. Because I had won so many awards I had the confidence to give it a try. One thing I have to add here is that by this time I had developed what I call a “tough artist skin”. You need this to take all the rejection notices you will get, and you will get them! You’re not going to get into every show, so you need to know from the get-go that just because one show does not accept your work, doesn’t mean it is crap! I once got a rejection on a piece and turned around entered it into another show and won “Best of Show”! So just let the rejection roll off your back…remember it is just one or maybe two judges opinions and they have a hard time accepting art that they don’t like, for instance if they paint real loosely, they sometimes just walk past the photo-realistic paintings that should have won an award, they are only human!

I learned to check out the judges before entering, this way if they were artists themselves I could look up their work and if they painted very differently than I did, I would not enter because I knew they would more likely than not eliminate my work. I look for professional judges who have earned a high level of recognition in the art community and respect from other artists. It is best to avoid of judges well known and involved in local organizations. Nepotism does happen in all walks of life and the art field is not exception.
I was asked to judge a show some years ago. I saw firsthand how hard it is to get past my personal preference and be objective. So I know that it is not an easy task to be a judge.

Choose shows that you would be proud to be entered in. Be a little choosey.
Enter shows that you have a high opinion of and reflect your current level or knowledge, skill and proficiency
Some shows require very high entry fees, avoid these shows, they are usually scams to collect money.
Here are some tips that will help your chances of attracting the judge’s attention.
Your entry should have a lot of “visual impact”, which is a strong use of values, this will make your work actually stand out from the rest of the entries. A strong composition and high contrasts will always grab the judge’s attention.
Judges will be looking for strong compositions. Most jurors agree that artistic composition is the most important criteria for any entry. A mastery of drawing is the next requirement. A complete knowledge of color and technique are a must.
To have the best chance of winning an award paint “big”! A tiny work gets lost too often. Be bold, paint on a large canvas it will stand out!
You may have a great idea but if your values are bad, your composition doesn’t pull the whole painting together then you have a bad painting,every inch of your canvas needs to be painted with the same skill, don’t skip over some areas and pay more attention to other areas, keep all areas equal.


Common mistakes can actually cause you to be eliminated even before it reaches the jurors. Read over the rules of the show.
Only enter “original” artwork. Never enter a painting that looks like it has been copied from a calendar, magazine or another’s artwork
Make sure that your entries are photographed well. The images must be as clear and precise as possible. Don’t send in photos that are out of focus, and where the colors are not bright. Only focus on the art, don’t include distracting backgrounds these things can almost guarantee instant rejection of your entry.
Take extra steps to assure your work is framed well. Never use damaged or used frames, frames that are too elaborate, too big or frames with colors or patterns that distract from the artwork. The frame should compliment the artwork not detract from it!

Finally again I have to reiterate If you’re work is not accepted by a judge or jury, don’t take the rejection personally. Use it as a learning experience. This will help you next time.
Sometimes you will be lucky enough to get a comment sheet from the judge so you can see why your art was rejected. Good Luck!

Sharon Teal-Coray

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Artist of the Month












Self Portrait










Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (French pronunciation: [ɛ̃ːɡʁ]) (29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres' portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest legacy.

A man profoundly respectful of the past, he assumed the role of a guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ascendant Romantic style represented by his nemesis Eugène Delacroix. His exemplars, he once explained, were "the great masters which flourished in that century of glorious memory when Raphael set the eternal and incontestable bounds of the sublime in art ... I am thus a conservator of good doctrine, and not an innovator."[1] Nevertheless, modern opinion has tended to regard Ingres and the other Neoclassicists of his era as embodying the Romantic spirit of his time,[2] while his expressive distortions of form and space make him an important precursor of modern art. To see moreof his beautiful work go to:
http://www.jeanaugustedominiqueingres.org/biography.html

Some great info on Genesis

Genesis here in Australia is more expensive than the USA but I did purchase it in the USA some years ago where it was cheaper as we pay so much duty on goods from overseas to bring them into Australia.The price is almost equivalant to tubes of acrylics and oils for the different series. As you know it is the pigments that make the different series more expensive so Genesis is the same. It actually works out cheaper than acrylics or oils in as much as there is no wastage. I always tended to put out too much of either my acrylics or oils and even though I used a wet palette the humidity where I live sends the acrylics mouldy. Even tried bleach under the wet palette paper but within a few days it would be mouldy. The oils I keep in an old fridge but they also have a limited time for use before they tend to dry out. The Genesis oils put on a glass palette will be there forever, as when they harden slightly you just work them with a palette knife until they become the consistency of butter again and away you go. I also find I use less as I do not pick it up the same as acrylics and then wash the brush out wasting the paint on the brush, it tends to go further. The creamy consistancy makes it so easy to blend and as I paint I heat set and you can just play until you have the desired effect. To add extra highlights or shading is a breeze as well. To do my style of painting I use, old credit cards, afro comb, tile grouting tool, screwdrivers, diffuser, kebab sticks, high density foam rollers and you just cannot use the Genesis that way so I leave it for my other paintings. I throw paint on the canvas and also use doilies and moulding clay. If you have the chance to try it do so and the other benefits are ouderless, clean brushes with soap and water although I have not cleaned my Genesis brushes since I started painting as you work mostly with one brush and a mop brush to blend. Wiping the brush on paper towel sometimes along the way. I always use up the paint on the brush by rubbing it into my background so no wastage. With the starter kit of the primary colours you can mix over 30 colours. Hope this helps. Happy painting.
By Gayle Xuereb

What is the difference between a Juried and Judged Show?

Have you heard these terms and wondered what they mean?
When I first started entering exhibits I was confused too so here is a simple explanation as to what they each mean.

If you see the term “Juried” Art Exhibit, it means that you will submit any work you would like to have in the show. Then it will be reviewed and evaluated, (juried). They may have a committee of jurors or just one person who decides if your work is accepted.


If you see, the term “Judged” this means that your work will be evaluated to determine if you will receive an award.

Many of the shows are both juried and judged. First, you must get accepted and then you have a chance of winning an award after the show has been judged. Accepted entries are evaluated against each other to determine the award placement.

Some shows are small often limited to artists working
in a specific media, living in a certain area or by membership in an organization. Because the shows are small they are able to exhibit all qualified entries and
don’t need to reduce the size of the exhibit with
a jury process.
Some shows and events are juried, but not judged. These can include invitational exhibits the objective is to jury artworks or artists to participate in the event.

Painting Faces

1. Base coat face, hair and accessories
2.Float shade highlights and shadow behind the cheeks, eyes, and ears. Add hair definition by using the Script liner, adding both highlights and shadows.
3.Using the Wave Filbert wash additional shadows and highlights in. Add cheeks and enjoy!
Three step worksheet by Christy Hartman, to see more of her work go to:
http://www.chartmandesigns.com/store/Default.asp

Still Life Painting Tips

First things frist; setting up your still-life.

Experiment with your set-up, get it right from the start. One of the biggest mistakes that most amateurs make when they try to paint a still-life is to casually set up their props and start to paint. They rarely spend any serious thought about the set-up, the lighting, the mood or concept they intend to convey. Take some time, re-arrange. Choose your location: light source is the key to a strong painting. A strong lamp or bright window is perfect.
Once you get it set up live with it a while. Spend a few minutes just looking at it, or more if necessary.
Things to paint: common kitchen objects contain a wealth of shapes and textures to be captured on canvas. Flowers, fruit, and vegetables abound with both obvious and subtle color. Everything found in your home can be incorporated into leasing subjects. Machine-made objects demand an accurate rendering of form and perspective. For a traditional feel, choose fruit, vegetable and crockery, or find some old wares can be found at a thrift store. Wine bottles are always a favorite.
Check out the colors, are they compatible?
Deicide what you want as your center of interest and build on this. remember there can only be one center of interest.
Look at the colors designers use for a contemporary feel.
When arranging, consider compositional elements, avoid bland central positioning and symmetry.
Avoid piling fruit in a bowl this has been done so many times, so try letting it spill out of the bowl or a bag. You can even have a half eaten piece of fruit on a plate.
Give flowers a history - don't just put them in a vase, you can tucked in a hat, or strew them on the table top. Let one fall over the edge of the table. Maybe some of them can be wilted!
View your arrangement through an empty slide frame, or through you camera lens. Often I will take photos and look at them on my computer, I see mistakes this way easier so I can then go and re-do the set-up. Often I will turn them upside down to see any glaring mistakes, this works not just for the set-up but while you are painting.
Transparent and reflective objects, such as bottles and metal objects, can be challenging but these are excellent exercises to developed your eye to see the minute details.
Take photographs if you are using perishables, especially flowers, or where your work may be disturbed.
If you will be using natural light, take photos to refer to once the light starts to change.
Remember that everything has a distinctive shape. Get these in first and don't lose them.
Don't light all objects equally. Things in the shadow make the still-life more interesting.
Paint the shadows transparent.
Remember that your center of interest is always the lightest part of your composition.
Understand your subject. You cannot paint something that you don't fully understand.
Remember to overlap objects to create depth.
Remember that objects have a line of shadow beneath them, this "plants" them and is commonly the darkest in the picture.
All paintings will have a center of interest, or “Focal Point” It may be a figure in a landscape, a vase full of flowers or one single flower. Physiologically a viewer will always look at the light areas first, and the center of interest is always in the light.
It will often be the area of the painting where the painter has concentrated the most work, delineating the main element of interest. Converging lines or shapes or sweeping curves lead the viewer’s eye to this point of interest. This focal point may be a brighter color or stronger contrast or more carefully painted than the surrounding area.
 For that reason areas of less interest may be of a more subdued range of color, closer range of value and with edges less sharp.
You want to create a gradual transition from the Focal Point area to the background, if you over emphasize the Focal Point, you can create the bull's eye effect, and the viewer will lock onto this and have a difficult time traveling away from that area of the painting. 
 The bull's eye draws so much energy from the rest of the painting that it becomes a total distraction instead of a well-developed stronger area. It’s sort of like someone wearing bright red lipstick, your eyes are directed to that area and you don’t see the rest of the face.
In trying to make the focal point area stand out from the rest, it must be different, one of the best ways to help develop the Focal Point area of a painting is to think in terms of opposites.
A good rule of thumb is that the Focal Point area is usually predominately opposite in temperature to the background of the painting. If the background is cool, then the Focal Point will be easily recognized if you use hues that are warm or warmer than the rest! The Focal point should contrast with the background; this contrast will set it apart it from the rest of the painting.
You need to consider these characteristics when establishing the Focal Point:
Hue, value, intensity, texture. contrast, temperature, detail,
Hue – First you need to carefully plan what hues you want to use for the Focal Point. When you select the overall color scheme for the painting, you must consider if these colors that are chosen for the focal point, can be used in a different form in the painting, example can they be grayed to use in the background? Will they help to create the flow that is required to establish the harmony and balance within the painting as a whole? If you are using a red color for the focal point, could you use it again somewhere else, either on another element or part of an element? 
Value - the values of colors (how light or dark) they are, will be strongest in the focal point, any color that is used in this area will have it's darkest values, along with the lightest used in this area. If you use these here, they cannot be used at the same level of contrast outside this range. If you used in the same equal value, it will not only create distracting areas, but they will compete with the Focal Point.
Intensity - The intensity (how dull or bright) of colors will be the strongest in the Focal Point area. You need to include both dull and vibrant colors within this area because one against the other will help to create the visual contrast that is necessary to set this part of the painting apart in visual interest.
 Texture and Contrast – Using these two elements is very helpful in drawing the attention that the Focal Point needs. A smooth satin texture next to a rough one (opposites) will always draw attention to that area. That is why stripes and patterns get so much attention; it is the value between the stripes and the patterns that catches the eye of the viewer. If you paint a still life sitting on a blanket with stripes or delicate pattern, it would always be one of the first thing that a viewer will see.
Temperature - The temperature of colors (cool or warm) as they relate to each other, is of greatest contrast here in the Focal Point. Temperature change between objects also helps to establish depth or space between objects. Cooler colors recede and warmer colors advance. Remember you are trying to create the illusion of space. If you have three apples sitting one in front of the other, they will get less red as they recede.
Detail - The detail is always the strongest on the focal point.  You see all the little veins on the leaves; the edges are crisp, and sharp. The rest of the painting is just slightly out of focus, with soft and “lost” edges, but the Focal Point has the clarity of 20/20 vision. If everything was as sharp and detailed as the focal point, then the viewer would not know where to look, there would be no depth and the painting would look very jumbled, there would be no unity, it would basically be a bad painting.
Simple Composition
Symmetry
Symmetry is the balance of elements of your painting around a central axis or point.
Both sides will usually match.
with symmetry you can achieve beauty through harmony and balance
Inflexible Symmetry
If you arrange your picture to have mirror images of each other then you have produced a "inflexible symmetry"
Example: a painting of two people at a table having a meal.
Flexible Symmetry
If you have a painting with only similar
shapes exist, you have a "flexible symmetry"
Example: a still-life with numerous objects, all differing in shape and color
The "Golden Mean or Section"
 This is a very common Greek principal in art.
 The "Golden Mean" is accomplished by using a 3 to 5 ratio.
 I could explain the complicated method of arriving at this but as an artist all you need to remember is:
 Whenever you want to find the "Golden Mean" on your canvas, simply multiply the LENGTH or HEIGHT of you space by 0.6. This will give you the point of division without the complicated calculation.
Here is an example, if you draw a horizontal line running across the vertical line , you get the "golden Mean where the two lines intersect. 
 If you are designing your own pattern this is so helpful to know. Using this principal gives you a great composition
Golden Mean
If you place your center of interest at this point you will have a very pleasing composition. The intersection of the two lines  is the "Golden Mean" Try experimenting with this and also look at some of the great paintings that have been done, see if you can see how they placed their center of interest in the "Golden Mean" Move the horizontal line up or down and it will still show you the "Golden Mean" where the two lines intersect.


Hue:
 Hue is color, such as red, green, yellow, etc. If you add blue to yellow you produce green therefore you have changed the hue.
Value:
This is the lightness or darkness of a hue. Simple as that. Pink would be a light value of red. This is the most important dimension of color for the artist, if you have a good knowledge of this you can simulate form and effect emphasis through contrasts in light and shade.
Color Harmony:
Harmony is the result of a balanced relationship between all of the elements of any stimuli. The organization of a harmonious color pattern relies upon a pleasing relationship of the three dimensions of color: Hue, Chroma (intensity) and Value. A simple way to achieve harmony is to use complementary colors.
Chroma:
This is the "intensity" or brightness or the dullness of color. If you were to measure intensity, you would score a neutral grey as zero because it has no trace of chroma or hue. As you increase the brightness of a hue a 0 to 5 would indicate a low saturation. This increases above 5 and with a rating of 10 or above you would have a very vivid color.
Complementary Colors:
On the traditional color wheel complementary colors are found directly across from each other. You can dull or lower the chroma of a color by simply adding a bit of it's complimentary color to it. Two compliments placed next to each other often appear to be much more vivid than they do standing alone.
Tint:
 This is the result of mixing a color with white.
Here are some things you should remember:
A color cannot be right until the "value" is right
To make something look like it has "dimension" you need to paint 6 values. Light: Halftone: Shadow: Reflected light: Cast Shadow; and Highlight.
Colors are affected by how the light or reflected light is striking it.
Everything that has light falling on it will cast reflected light onto the other less brightly lit areas.
Colors in shadow will receive reflected light from other colors and change accordingly.
A good rule of thumb for "reflected" light is to keep it cool against a warm color and warm against a cool color. You can also apply the compliment theory here and use a complement color against one another for the reflected light. Example: Orange shadow---Blue reflected light. ( my favorite color for reflected light is Bahama Purple by Delta or Ultramarine Blue+ White for oil painters.
Shadows:
These are never painted black. The shadow will always retain some of it's local color. I like to glaze the shadows in by applying the complement color over the area that is in the shadow.
Cool Colors recede
Warm colors advance
Never tone or grey down a color with black, this will only "muddy" the color, to keep the original color rich tone it down with it's complementary color.

Preparing different surfaces with Liquitex Gesso

Artists have used wooden panels for centuries. The ones that were properly cared for still survive today. If those early artists had access to masonite they would have preferred it to wood. Masonite is a wonderful surface to paint on, and much cheaper than canvas. The only disadvantage is that is does not have the "spring-back" feel of the canvas.
I found that I could go to my local hardware store( Home Depot or Lowes) and buy a large panel, my hubby could cut it or they would cut it at the store. This is so inexpensive. I could get many paintings our of one large panel!
The first thing you want to do is to make sure the masonite is untempered, never use tempered masonite. Untempered masonite is used because its a non-oil surface.
Tempered masonite will not hold gesso or paint very well, in time the painting will flake off.
Cut the masonite to the desired size and sand the edges to get rid of the burs.
Apply a coat of Gesso to both sides to prevent moisture entering the panel causing deterioration and warping.
I find that Liquitex Gesso is the very best to use, do not thin with water, use it straight out of the bottle.
Use a nylon brush for the back and a foam brush for the front, when coating the front brush the gesso on in one direction for the first coat, let dry and then apply the second coat brushing in the opposite direction.
Apply at least 3 coats on the front of the panel. When the gesso is dry, apply water to the front with a sponge, hold over a sink , now with a #280 or #320 waterproof sandpaper, sand in a circular motion on the wet surface until the entire surface is smooth. Rinse with the wet sponge, wring it out and wipe the panel to remove the excess water.
When dry feel it to make sure it is smooth, if not repeat above process.
Applying the "Tooth" coat.
If you tried to paint on the panel now it would be slick as glass, you would slip and slide all over the place. You need a bit of "tooth" or "texture" to prevent this. Follow the instructions carefully in applying the "tooth" coat.
Mix 3 parts of water to two parts of Liquitex "Modeling Paste" using a level measuring spoon. Please measure very carefully. Mix completely to remove all lumps. Modeling paste is an acrylic and marble dust solution. The marble dust gives a fine sandpaper-like finish to the surface. It is just wonderful to paint on!
Apply a thin, even coat of this with a sponge brush over the prepared panel. When the panel is covered, use another dry sponge brush and crisscross very lightly over the panel until the water is almost gone, the water lines will not be visible now. Dry spots will start to show as the moisture is removed.
Let this dry completely.
NOTE: The "tooth" coat is very venerable to damage , be careful not to rub it or scratch it. If you do, that area may show through after the painting is finished. I would do a few at a time and wrap them in tissue paper when the were completely dried to protect them.
I know this sounds like a lot of work, but if you get your panel all cut and sanded and gesso it all at the same time you will have many wonderful surfaces ready to paint on. Be sure to make your cutting the sizes of the frames if you are planning on framing your work. I encourage you to try this, once you do I am betting that you like so many of my students will find a new "favorite' surface to paint on!!
Surface Preparation: Rigid Surfaces
Rigid surfaces provide smooth or textured surfaces for artists who paint dimensionally and attach objects to rigid surfaces. Most boards can be used as supports to which canvas, paper or other material can be glued. Use Liquitex® Matte Gel Medium to adhere canvas to board.
The following surface preparation procedures for painting on board serve as general guidelines for most acrylic paint applications. Surfaces should be tested for proper adhesion of paint and compatibility of material for adhesion. See Adhesion Test below.
ACETATE
Acetate is a transparent, somewhat brittle plastic available in varying thickness and surface textures.
Matte-surface acetate, textured acetate and wet-media acetate (also called "prepared acetate") are suitable for acrylic paints, mediums and gesso.
Smooth acetate is not recommended, as the surface is smooth and slick. Paint will not adhere.
Wet-media acetate is a clear, smooth acetate that is chemically treated so that acrylic paint, mediums and gesso will not repel away from its surface.
CANVAS PANEL BOARDS
Prepared canvas panel boards are commercially available in a wide variety of sizes and a limited number of surface textures.
They are usually made of cotton canvas wrapped and
glued onto heavy cardboard.
Not recommended for permanent work, as they may warp and the glues and papers used in their manufacture may not be permanent.
FIBERGLASS
Fiberglass can be painted with acrylics or oils if the surface is prepared properly.
1. Sand or sandblast the surface. Remove residual dust.
2. Coat with an industrial primer-sealer meant for use with water-based media.
3. After the primer is completely dry, test for proper adhesion (see Adhesion Test).
Spray or brush on Liquitex Gesso or Liquitex Clear Gesso. Let dry overnight. Again test for proper adhesion.
FOAMBOARD
Provides a smooth, inert, stable, uniform surface, but they are very susceptible to warping and impact damage.
1. Lightly sand the surface with very fine sandpaper and apply one or two coats of gesso. Sand between coats. Let dry overnight.
MASONRY AND CONCRETE
There must be no waterproofing, cement paint or silicones on surface. These materials are often used during construction and can adversely effect the longevity of the paint.
1. Masonry and concrete must be thoroughly dry and cured. This may take 8-12 weeks after set-up. All moisture must be gone or acrylic paint adhesion will not be permanent.
2. Liquitex Acrylics can be applied directly to a masonry wall, but it is best to first trowel on a layer of Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. This provides an excellent ground for the paint, seals the rough texture of the wall and reduces the amount of paint needed to paint surface.
3. Let Matte Gel Medium to fully dry, then apply one or preferably two coats of gesso. Let dry overnight before painting.
4. If the back of the cement wall is subject to moisture it may cause the paint film to separate from the wall.
METAL AND GLASS
Sand with 400-grit paper or sandblast for proper paint film adhesion.
Aluminum should be etched with a 5% lye solution for 4 to 5 minutes.
Glass can be acid-etched or sand blasted.
1. Wipe surface with a degreasing solution and coated with an industrial primer meant for use with water-based media.
2. After the primer is completely dry, test for proper adhesion (see Adhesion Test).
3. Spray or brush apply Liquitex Gesso or Liquitex Clear Gesso Let dry 3 days and test for adhesion.
MURALS
Murals cover a variety of techniques, including fresco, encaustic, mosaic, stained glass and photography. The
type of mural technique most used is either painting on canvas, which is then attached to a wall or painting directly on the surface of the wall itself.
When painting directly on any wall, there must be no grease, wax or oil on the surface. It needs to be structurally sound and free of loose particles. It must not be subject to dusting. Back of the wall must not be subject to extreme moisture conditions.
Refer to Part II Applications & Techniques: Murals
MYLAR
Mylar is a film that has all the properties and uses of acetate with additional flexibility and strength. Much higher in price than acetate, it does not stretch, crack or yellow and is also available with a photosensitive surface for the reproduction of line drawings.
Like acetate, Mylar is available in a wet-media form that needs no surface preparation.
PLASTERBOARD
Use plasterboard walls only if not previously painted with oil or alkyd paint.
1. Prepare the surface by sealing it first with a barrier varnish such as Soluvar® or an industrial primer/sealer like AqualockTM, made for use with water base paints.
2. When sealer is completely dry, apply two coats of gesso with a brush, spray or paint pad.
PLASTIC PANELS (PLEXIGLASTM)
Depending upon the type of plastic, acrylic paint can be applied directly to the surface. Some plastics will repel acrylic paint, some are very smooth and the acrylic paint will easily scratch off and some have a slight tooth and provide the best surface for paint adhesion. The plastic must be chemically inert so that it will not react with the paint film over time.
1. For the most permanent acrylic paint application, sand the entire panel or sand only those areas that will be painted to preserve the transparent nature of the product.
2. After sanding, coat with a layer of Liquitex Matte Medium or Matte Gel Medium and one or two coats of Liquitex Gesso or Liquitex Clear Gesso.
Plexiglas is an acrylic sheet material manufactured in a variety of widths. When sanded, it will provide adequate surface tooth for acrylic paint. Both sides of the sheet can be painted to yield dimensional qualities.
When working with transparent colors use Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish, Glazing Medium, or Gel Medium to maintain clarity.
PLYWOOD
MDO Boards are varieties of plywood that are bonded with paper on one or both sides, available from sign making supply houses. They offer a very smooth surface quality that is hard to achieve with standard plywood.
Negative aspects- weight.
Good exterior grade plywood or birch plywood provides an excellent painting support.
Plywood is available in 1/8" thickness (called "door skin") of mahogany, birch, maple and oak. The harder woods, such as birch, maple and oak will require less gesso to seal and provide a smooth surface. Plywood sheets may be adhered to wooden stretcher bars for added strength and to prevent warping. Glue and nail plywood to stretcher bars every 3-4".
All forms of plywood will require between 2-5 coats of gesso.
UNUSUAL SURFACES
Unusual surfaces should be tested for compatibility with the acrylic paint. Certain paint and surface combinations may react with one another, either immediately or over time.
The type of surface and ground used with acrylic paint has a large effect on how the paint handles.

Mural anyone?

Have you ever wanted to paint a mural??? Maybe in your child or grandchild’s room, in your bathroom or dining room, any room is a great place for a mural! I painted a whole wall once in a church nursery. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun.
I found some things that really helped me and so I am going to list them here in case you may want to venture into this area of painting.
First you need to decide what your design will be, then what medium you are going to use. I think acrylics are the best if you want it to dry faster but if you are going to need time to blend then I would opt for oils with a drier added.
The most important thing you need to do is to figure out how you are going to get your design onto the wall. You can use a projector if you happen to have one but because they are expensive I found that I could use the grid method and it worked perfectly!
I used freezer paper because it is cheap and I can purchase a large roll at Costco or Sam’s club.
I sketched out what I wanted to paint on a sketch pad. It included Jesus sitting under a big tree. He was surrounded by lots of flowers and animals peeking out from under the foliage. I had a cat in the tree, an old English sheep dog, ( because I owned two of them at the time) rabbits, squirrels and birds. Children were running down the hill towards Jesus.
Once I had the sketch perfected I went over the pencil outline with a black marker.
Next I cut the paper into 4 equal pieces making sure that my proportions were right on and then I added grid lines over each piece.

Next I cut four pieces of freezer paper to the size I wanted it to be on the wall and again applied the grid line.
Now it was time to draw on the freezer paper, copying from my original drawing using the grid as my guide. Once I had finished all of the pieces I taped them together.
So now I had my design and it was time to prepare the surface of the wall.
Preparation of the surface is vital to the success of a mural. Outdoor murals need to be painted on fresh, high quality, flat outdoor paint or areas that gesso has been applied to. These surfaces grip the pigments and add tooth for the artist so it isn’t slippery. Proper preparation of surfaces and layout will insure a mural that is pleasing and will last a long time.
You need to use fine quality paints because they need to be able to withstand outdoor elements if painted outdoors and contact by people.
It is absolutely a must to have strong pigments because the stronger the pigments the longer they will last. You also need to make sure they are light fast.

I transferred the design on using Saral transfer paper; I taped several long pieces together.
When I started to paint, I found that Styrofoam plates worked very nicely for my palette because they were light and disposable. I decided to use acrylics because I only had a limited time to get it finished and a mop bucket for my water.

I used the biggest brushes I could find, some were actually for painting walls!
For the foliage I used sea sponges which created a great base, and then I painted in individuals leaves here and there. I used a large stipple brush for the flowers. For Jesus and the children I used large oil painting brushes. It took me 4 days to complete. It turned out quite nice, people loved it. Unfortunately I can’t show you a photo of it as my disc that it was on went bad and I didn’t have a back up! Lesson learned...always back up!
Then the church decided to remodel and the wall was knocked out. Needless to say I was quite shocked when I saw all my work gone…..
Another way to paint a mural is to do it on box canvases and hang them together. This would be much easier and it would be able to move if necessary without losing the artwork.

Sharon Teal-Coray
Shining Feather

The easy way to paint foliage!

With enrichment classes just around the corner, I was looking for a way to make painting foliage easier. Starting out with Hauser Dark Green, I filled in the shape of a shrub with a flat shader by patting the side of brush rather than stroking to keep a more irregular top.

Then I loaded only one half of a #6 Dynasty fountain brush with Mint Julip and stippled to highlight one side and create a reflective layered effect throughout the shrub.

Next, I repeated stippling with Hauser Dark Green to bring the two colors together (some of the light will continue to show through and it creates a smoother blend of going from light to dark.

The final application is just using a very few bristles on the fountain brush (almost like a tip of paint in Lemonade) and then highlight in essential places to create the direction of light.

When looking at trees or bushes with light on them, you can see several colors involved from dark to light and that's what gives them that leafy look from a distance. Applying colors in such a loose fashion seems to also create movement rather than having a tree look like it was cut from paper and glued on.
When you first look at the Black Gold fountain brush, you'll notice that its appearance is a bristled circle with an opening in the middle. The purpose for this brush is basically stippling, but it can be stroked, scrubbed, pressed and turned in a circle. Which, by the way, makes excellent berries and cherries with ease, and definately quickens such designs when painted on vine type borders.
Just as with most brushes, there are different ways to apply this brush as well as load it. Stippling with the handle vertical and pouncing the full circle of bristles is generally the way most will use this brush the first time they try it. This is great for evergreen wreaths, snowmen and filling in clouds or foregrounds of snow or grass. However, the bristles can be loaded minutely (just a very few bristles) or only half the brush and the handle leaned back with the bristles folded over each other (bottom half of bristles on surface and top half over the bottom half); press the brush on its side for this.
Movement is very important in when applying paint as well as the amount of bristles being used and if they are used merely on the tips or flush. Using few bristles and keeping the movement irregular will give the appearance of airyness and form layers to foliage. Sometimes I use only a half dozen bristles, and paint is only on tips. I do blot paint if I feel there is too much. A very dry loaded fountain is good for painting distant shadowed trees and faint clouds.
When stippling clouds, I combine variety in application and select amounts of paint and scrub the paint colors to blend as well as stipple to keep them highlighted. One requires more paint, and one requires less.
For the pine tree, only half of the bristles were used which creates a curve in the brush and very lightly touch for boughs. Even fewer bristles are used at the very top. To start the tip of the tree, the curve is touched north and south. The boughs that follow go east and west.
The fountain brush is very versatile and the same techniques can be used changing paint colors to create landscapes for the season. This is an excellent brush to use for vineyards, cottage gardens, woods and forests and even for painting water detail. Pulling short strands of grass and weeds to add detail to solid ground is yet another option.
The designs in the four season shown in the illustration were done using only the Black Gold fountain brush with a liner for detail through trees, flower stems and the snowman
Linda Lover

Understanding some basics about composition!

Painting by Sharon Teal-Coray


Every artist needs to understand there are some basic rules that apply to composition. It is not hard to understand but you do need to know this in order to achieve a pleasant looking painting that will hold the attention of your viewer.

Lets start with the "Center of Interest" or "Focal Point". Any subject you may paint will require you to have a definite center of interest. This is the place you want your viewer to look, it is truly the most important area in the painting.

Take a look at this picture, here we have no real center of interest, your eyes keep moving back and forth trying to decide what you are supposed to be looking at, blue building...entrance...blue building...entrance.... OK I give up!















Here are some tips that will help you create a well developed center of interest.
1.Make sure your focal point area contains the strongest colors. To really create visual impact in this area use complement colors. This will make each color stand out. You can further improve this area by a "bulls-eye" result by adding a touch of pure color, or a contrast in values. Using strong contrasts in this area will make it “pop” and give it real visual impact. This will be the major focal point with all other areas subordinate.



If your painting in hanging in a room with a lot of other paintings and it is the onw that attracts viewers to go to it to take a closer look, it has “Visual Impact”. This is what every artist strives for!





Look how that red hat in this painting grab your attention!










Using complement colors in your composition. The purple background against the yellow flowers makes the painting really jump out.

2.It always makes for an interesting composition when you add animals or human figures. This will boost the center of interest. If you do add them always point animals or people facing inward, if you place them looking outward it will make the viewer's eyes move off the canvas,remember our main goal is to keep them looking at our art as long as possible.

If you have a group of people or animals never spread them out all over the canvas, place them near each other. If you do spread them around they will compete for attention and the viewer will not know where to look.
Never place animals sideways to avoid a flat pasted on look. They will have a three dimensional volume if you turn them about ¾.


This lion looks like it was pasted onto the picture.



3.Never place your center of interest in the center or half way in the picture.(Except for a still life)




Imagine how much better this would be if the artist placed the trees over to the right and out of the center.


What a distraction these are! You can’t see the painting for the trees in the middle!



This is OK, still-life paintings are the exception to the rule.




4.Don’t point elements towards the edge of the canvas such as roads, rivers or tree limbs, this will lead the eye of the viewer right out of the painting!




This tree leads the eye right out of the picture! YOu have lost your viewer or customer!






Notice how the fence leads out of the picture instead of into it!





5.Have your rivers, streams and paths enter the picture with an “s” movement or a soft curve, using straight lines moves too fast and are static. You want your viewer to “meander” along not get pushed right out of the painting.
This stream leads the viewer “straight” into the picture fast but where too??? On another note, this painting is divided in half down the center of the canvas, it actually looks like two different paintings.




This painting "invites" us to come in slowly and look at all the things that are in the garden.



6. Group and overlap objects. This will be more pleasing and give your painting depth.



Look how all the objects are spaced out, this does not give us any depth!
Always overlap objects.


Here we have three objects and not one is over lapping, there is no depth here.



This is so much better, the fruit is overlapping giving the painting depth, the knife further increases the feeling of realism and depth.

7. When you are painting anything from clouds to trees avoid duplicating what you just painted, keep them different in size, forms, and movement. This may be a little hard because we are wired to repeat things we paint that looks good to us!




Three tress look the same, spaced the same…boring!




Look how different these trees look, much better.








8. Unify your painting by carrying the colors throughout.



Look how the artist introduced the pinkish color on the tops of the mountain in the surrounding trees, bushes, roof and water. That is unity!
If you are painting a sunset with orange and yellow add a touch of this to the ground cover or foliage. Bounce the sky colors on the rocks or in the shadows or tree trunks. ( Note the even number of bushes in the water all the same size!)





This is bad unity…do you see red-orange any place other than the tree on the left and a touch in the trees on the right? The artist could have introduced that color all over the place which would have unified the painting. The tree sort of stands out like a sore thumb and looks out of place. ( plus the little trees in the center all look the same!)






9.Avoid splitting your painting in half either top to bottom, or side to side It is much more attractive to have a low or high horizon than cutting the canvas in half.







This is right, the horizon line is further down making it a great composition.


10. Avoid grouping anything in even numbers. Odd numbers are better.



Two lions, an even number, just imagine how much better this would be if the artist had included a male in the pride and this would be an odd number making it a much better composition. Paint using odd numbers!
Exception to that rule is painting pairs, if you have to paint a pair of deer for instance just change their size and position.





Two elephants but the varying size makes it a good painting.



Three elephants……much better!



11. Do not stop the viewer from entering your painting by placing a fence or line of bushes in the front of the canvas. Leave a place for them to enter.



No way to get into this painting, you would have to climb over the wall and foliage.


12. Avoid “tangents” this is where there are two edges just touching not overlapping. This is irritating to the viewer even if most of the time they don’t know why it is bothering them, having these do have a negative effect on the viewer.

13. Unless you are into photo-realism it is not necessary to specify every board, shingle, brick or stone, Simply by suggesting a few of them will actually convey the idea better.

14.When painting cast shadows add holes where the light peeks through, otherwise the shadow will appear pasted on.

15. Use mood to create interest, you can paint a deep orange sky at sundown, it could be windy, raining or wet. All of these add interest.

16. Structures such as stucco, concrete and wood that are close to the viewer will show the texture, cracks and weathering. This will make them more interesting to the viewer. Remember to only add the texture to the foreground objects.


17. Balance is very important. There are two kinds of balance in a composition. Symmetrical balance and asymmetrical balance.


This is symmetrical balance.


Symmetrical balance is the placing of identical forms to either side of the central axis of a work to stabilize it visually.
It produces paintings that are peaceful, soothing, and visually secure.
Asymmetrical balance is achieved in a composition when neither side reflects or mirrors the other.
Characterized by arranging related or unrelated objects randomly.





This is asymmetrical balance.




Using the “Golden Mean” or "Rule of Thirds" to place your center of interest.

In painting this is a formula meant to provide the aesthetically most enjoyable proportions for a picture. The golden section is arrived at by dividing a line unevenly so that the shorter length is to the larger as the larger is to the whole. This ratio is approximately 8:13. The golden section (sometimes known as the golden mean or rule of thirds), which was thought to express a perfect harmony of proportions, played an important role in Renaissance theories of art.


"Rule of Thirds" is not a rule at all; it's a guideline. It is intended to help you when you are not sure where to place your focal point. You may still have a great picture by ignoring the rule, depending on the content of the image and how well its elements are balanced.















The Lighthouse is placed in the "Golden Mean"


If you place your center of interest at this point you will have a very pleasing composition. The intersection of the two lines  is the "Golden Mean" Try experimenting with this and also look at some of the great paintings that have been done, see if you can see how they placed their center of interest in the "Golden Mean" Move the horizontal line up or down and it will still show you the "Golden Mean" where the two lines intersect.

Painting a “Self-Portrait.

Mary Cassatt was an American portrait painter who specialised in portraits of women and children, 1878.


Adelaide Labille-Guiard, 1785, with two pupils. A "subjects-eye" view of the painter at work. It seems likely that women society portraitists did actually paint wearing fashionable clothes like this.



Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted several self-portraits that were hugely successful in the Paris Salons, and was influential in pioneering an "informal" fashion style at the end of the Ancien Regime. At 22, 1782.



Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, circa 1630, Royal collection Windsor. Note the pulled-up sleeve on the arm holding the brush.



Marie Bashkirtseff self-portrait, 1880 was a Russian born artist who died at twenty-five. A large number of Bashkirtseff's works were destroyed by the Nazis during World War II



Marie-Denise Villers, Young Woman Drawing, 1801, thought to be her self-portrait, and her most famous and finest painting. Originally attributed to Jacques-Louis David



Angelica Kauffmann, self-portrait, 1780-1785, a successful painter in her time, she was a great friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds.


Judith Leyster, a painter of genre subjects, who surely did not normally dress like this to paint. NGA, 1630.


Caterina van Hemessen, 1548, perhaps the oldest self-portrait of a female oil-painter, though much earlier examples of manuscript painters exist.



Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1532 - 1625) of Cremona served as court painter to the Queen of Spain, and painted several self-portaits and many images of her family. c.1556


What exactly is a “self-portrait?” and why paint one? When an artist takes on the task of painting a self-portrait he is painting a representation of himself. Self-portraits have been painted since the earliest times, however we didn’t see artists depicting themselves as either the main subject or as important character in their work until the Early Renaissance in the mid 1400’s
As mirrors became cheaper and better and
the advent of the panel portrait became popular, many painters sculptors and printmakers started trying some form of self-portraiture.
The earliest known panel self-portrait was Jan van Eyck of 1433. He belonged to the social group that had begun to commission portraits, already more common among wealthy.
The genre was honored but did it become truly popular until the Renaissance due to the increased wealth and interest in the individual as a subject

A self-portrait actually can be a portrait of the artist, or it could be a group portrait or a larger work.
Many paintings included the artist themselves with other depictions of figures in religious or other types of composition not projected to portray the actual persons as themselves.
Often you can find the artist faces in a crowd, often at the corner of the work. This giving the painting a double purpose as portrait and a historical painting. Rubens, Rembrandt, Jan van Eyck and Diego Velázquez were well known for this.

Women artists were famous producers of self-portraits. What is interesting is that almost all major women painters have left an example of a self-portrait. There was discrimination when it came to women artists, they were not allowed to train in drawing the nude, which made it complicated for them to paint large figure compositions, and portraiture was a common subject matter. What is interesting is that they usually showed themselves in the act of painting, or at least holding a brush and palette in very fancy clothes. We have to wonder if they really wore those, or was it just for the self-portrait. Conceivably the oldest self-portrait of a female oil-painter was Caterina van Hemessen of 1548
Court painter to the Queen of Spain Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1532 - 1625) painted several self-portraits and many images of her family. c.1556
A painting titled “Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting,” circa 1630, painted by Artemisia Gentileschi is now in the Royal collection of Windsor. Notice the pulled-up sleeve on the arm holding the brush.
A painter of genre subjects, Judith Leyster,1630 definitely did not typically dress to paint like it shows in the photos.
Angelica Kauffmann, self-portrait, 1780-1785, a successful painter in her time, she was a great friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Adelaide Labille-Guiard, 1785, with two pupils. A "subjects-eye" view of the painter at work. It seems likely that women society portraitists did actually paint wearing fashionable clothes like this, it is hard to imagine!
At 22 in 1782 Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted several self-portraits that were hugely successful in the Paris Salons, and was influential in pioneering an "informal" fashion style at the end of the Ancien Regime. She painted a total of 37 self-portraits copying many from earlier ones she had painted and sold.

Marie-Denise Villers, Young Woman Drawing, 1801, thought to be her self-portrait, and her most famous and finest painting. Originally attributed to Jacques-Louis David.
In1878, Mary Cassatt was an American portrait painter who specialized in portraits of women and children,
Marie Bashkirtseff self-portrait, 1880 was a Russian born artist who died at twenty-five. A large number of Bashkirtseff's works were destroyed by the Nazis during World War II
So now we come to the “why” do artists want to paint a self-portrait. Myself, I have never had the urge, but would love to have someone else paint me, but not me!
Maybe I see it as a very narcissistic endeavor. But maybe there are other reasons. In those early days when there were no cameras that was the only way to have a picture of themselves, that certainly could be the reason they felt a need to paint themselves. Maybe they wanted to have a record of what they looked like for prosperity. Putting themselves in a large picture with lots of people is very interesting, it is sort of like Alfred Hitchcock showing up at the beginning of each of his movies.
I guess I can’t answer the “why’ part of the question but who cares, it is still interesting to see these self portraits and wonder if that was really how they looked or did they fudge a little and glamorize themselves a bit???
Sharon Teal-Coray

Decorative Terms and Techniques

If you are new to painting this may come in handy, here are some of the terms and techniques decorative artists use.
Strokes
Broad Stroke
This is a wide, straight stroke.
Keep your brush fully loaded
Use a round or flat brush
Place your brush in an upright position and just touch the surface with the tips of the hair.
To start, apply a gentle pressure so your hairs flatten out
Next pull the brush straight up, you will see a clean crisp edge if you did it right.
Chisel Stroke
This is a great stroke to create very thin lines.
Load a flat brush with paint.
Hold the brush in an upright position.
Pull the chisel edge toward you, making sure to maintain even pressure until you finish the stroke.
As you come to the end of the stroke slow down a bit and gently life the brush straight up off the surface.
If you performed this right your stroke should be the same width from start to finish.
Comma Stroke
The comma stroke is very versatile, it can be used to create an infinite designs, such as the petals of daisies, or a beautiful stroke work border.
Fully load your flat or round brush .
Press down the tip and pause briefly to allow the hairs to flair out to create a rounded head.
Start pulling the stroke steadily release the pressure on the brush.
To ensure a fluid stroke, the pulling action comes from your shoulder and not your arm or wrist.
As you come to the end of the stroke let the hairs of your brush return to its natural point.
Stop and lift your brush straight up.
C-Stroke
This stroke can be used for many things.
Thin your paint and load your brush.
Stand the brush on it chisel edge and draw a line.
Do not lift your brush but begin turning it inward and down just like you were writing a “C” letter.
Apply pressure on the flat of the brush while dragging it so the stroke becomes wider.
Now start to release the pressure on the flat of the brush while you do this curve the stroke around and inward to form the bottom of the C.
Gently pull the brush up until only the chisel edge rests on the surface. Drag the edge inward to finish the stroke with a thin line.
S-Stroke
This stroke can be angled to the right or the left. You can use this stroke for trims and borders.
Using thinned paint fully load a flat brush, the paint should be a nice flowing consistency.
Angle the tip of your brush toward the left corner of your surface.
Keep the handle very straight while you paint a thin line downward from 11:00 to 4:00.
Now change direction gently to form the middle section of the “S” and drag the brush down toward 7:00 gradually increase your pressure during this so the hairs fan out.
Now you are reaching the center of the stroke so you will gradually release the pressure while you continue to pull.
Next gently lean the brush slightly toward 5:00.
Slowly lift the brush back to the tip and continue dragging the tip toward the right and gently lift if off the surface.



Techniques
Double Loading
When you double load a brush it simply means that you load two colors side by side on a brush.
This will let you apply two colors to a surface in a pre-blended appearance. This reduces the blending you have to do.
Begin by stroking one side of a flat or chisel blender brush through your paint. Make sure you saturate the hairs with paint.
Load the lighter of the two colors first.
Stroke the brush's other side through the second color of paint, saturating the hairs with paint
Stroke the brush back and forth on a clean area of your palette, using very short strokes to force the paint through the hairs of the brush.
Turn the brush over and stroke it again with the same short stroke until the color is blended to a smooth transition across the brush.
If you have succeeded you will have a gradual blend of two colors with one color on one side of the brush, one color on the opposite side, and a blend of the two colors in the middle.


Back-to-Back Floats
Dip a corner of the brush into a puddle of paint. Stroke back and forth on the palette to spread the paint through the bristles on that side of the brush.
Apply a brush stroke with the paint-filled side of the brush along the center of the area you want to shade or highlight.
Now flip the brush over and repeat, mirroring and overlapping the first stroke.
Soften the two strokes into each other.
To prevent a ridge of paint will form between them make sure the strokes overlap a bit.


Dry BrushingThis is a process for highlighting or shading a painting using a limited amount of unthinned paint in the brush. Use an old scruffy for this or a Dynasty Dry Brush.
Fully load your brush by stroking your brush through some paint then pat the brush on a paper towel to remove most of the paint.
Lightly pull the brush over the area that you want to apply the dry paint. You can do it in straight lines circular lines or by slip-slapping.
Make sure there are no visible start and stop lines.
Floating
To create a subtle transition from soft color to no color on an area this is the technique you will use.
Dip a flat brush in water, extender or painting medium (for oils, use Turpenoid) and blot the excess on a paper towel.
Dip a corner of the brush into a puddle of paint and stroke it back and forth on your palette in the same place.
Spread the paint through half the hairs of the brush.
Where you want the darkest color place the paint-filled side of the brush to that area.
Using a even, gliding stroke, apply the color.
The paint should glide onto the surface smoothly, blending evenly from dark to light with each stroke.
Linework
Linework can be used for everything from cross-hatched lines ,scrolls, grass, hair and decorative lettering.
Thin your paint to an ink-like consistency. Load your liner brush, saturating every hair of the brush by twisting it in the paint.
Holding the brush in an upright position, apply light
pressure, letting the paint flow off the tip.
Mopping
This technique is used blend and soften wet colors together. A mop brush can also be used to clean up ridges of paint that may form around the outline of an object.
Choose a mop brush that fits the size of the area to be covered.
Gently dust the mop brush over the paint from the edge to the center of the object.
The tips of the hairs should barely touch the surface.
Wipe excess paint off the brush with a paper towel, and mop again as needed. Do not wet the mop as it will not work once it is wet.
Painting A Wash
A wash is simply an application of paint that has been thinned with water or painting medium to make it transparent
A wash is applied over a basecoat to add color and give depth, while still allowing the basecoat color to show through.
To shade an object, apply the paint over an existing base color. The thin wash will slide on easily over the surface and deepen the basecoat.
You can also apply a wash over an area which hasn't been base coated to create its shape. Shading and highlighting can then be added on top of it.
Pat Blending
This technique allows you to blend one area of paint into another to create a progression of tones.
Placed the two colors to be blended then place the flat side of your flat brush on the darker side of the two areas.
Using short strokes, pull the flat surface of the brush into the lighter area of color to create streaks of color.
Continue to form streaks of color until a middle value begins to emerge where the two colors blend together.
Stippling
This technique is used for many things, it is especially good for foliage.
To stipple, load a stipple brush or an old, worn-out brush with a dark- or middle-value, basecoat color.
dab it on the palette to remove excess paint.
Holding the brush in an upright position, "pounce" or “tap” the color with an up-and-down motion onto the surface.
To create depth, stipple on a slightly lighter-value color next.
Don't overdo this step make sure the darker value can still be seen.
Stroke Blending
Stroke blending gives you the ability to softly blend a number of colors together.
Apply the colors you want to blend and then start at the top of the area with the chisel edge of the brush touching the wet painting surface.
Lightly pull your brush down, blending the colors as you move the brush.
Continue these strokes, following the object's natural shape.
Keep your strokes light so you don't remove the paint off the surface.
Wipe your brush on a paper towel every few strokes.
Further colors may be added as you stroke blend.
Simply pick up color on your brush and lay it over the areas you've already blended, following the same stroke direction as before.
After you've stroked from the top of the object down, turn the painting and stroke in the other direction.
Walking a Float
To extend the width of a side-loaded stroke, walk back into it from the transparent side toward the color.
The color will blend into the brush as you go.
Then reverse direction again and walk the brush back outward. The result will look like one, wide stroke with a smooth conversion from no color on one side to full color on the other.
Flyspecking
This technique produces indiscriminate drops of paint that work well as a decorative speckled finish or falling snow.
Dip an old toothbrush or a spattering tool into thinned paint.
With the loaded brush positioned above the surface, pull your thumb or a palette knife across the bristles to spatter the paint onto the surface.
Experiment with the pressure you apply on the bristles to create large and small speckles.
L. Spears

Introduction to Decorative painting

By Nina Owens



Decorative Painting is a general term used to describe a wide variety of visual and textural effects. It has come to include both Folk Art and Tole Painting. The term encompasses a broad range of techniques throughout history on a myriad of surfaces. It has been done in one form or another on interior or exterior architectural surfaces, furniture, or other decorative and functional objects. Modern decorative painting technique is based on a rich history of painted effect from many eras and a multitude of cultures.

Tole comes from the Old French taule which refers to iron or steel in thin sheets laminated or welded under pressure. Traditionally Tole Painting referred to painting on items made from this thin metal. Tole came to mean to paint on tin and the term Tole Painting came into popular usage. Although we paint on many types of surfaces today Decorative Painting is interchangeably known as Tole Painting.

Folk Art commonly referred to the art of ordinary people. Folk art was traditionally produced by rural and working class people in their spare time. Folk artists learned techniques often passed on from one generation to the next. The main intent of folk art is to add color and decoration to everyday items such as furniture and utensils.

History

Since the early ages humans have felt a desire to express themselves and their environments through artistic endeavors. Decorative painting has been practiced on every continent in a wide variety of styles.

The African folk art can be traced in the caves of the Sahara desert. The earliest forms depict the people, tools, activities of daily life and many of the familiar African animals.

Many items were decorated to reflect social status or simply for their aesthetic appeal.

China has a history of decorative painting that spans over two thousand years. Chinese art influence its neighbors, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Throughout Asia, fans, umbrellas, boxes, bowls, trays and screens were commonly decorated. Wooden pieces were coated with lacquer for strength and protection.

The Aztec and Mayans decorated the pyramids and temples with brightly painted sculptural reliefs and large frescoes of mythical animals. They created pictorial manuscripts painted on deerskin or bark paper filled with images of gods, ruler and warriors.

The Islamic style of decorative painting stretched from North Africa, Spain, Egypt, Turkey and Iran to as far as Indonesia. Strong colors were used to adorn clothing, items of daily use, houses and mosques. The carving of images or idols was forbidden by the Koran and with practice extended to painting. Since artists were not permitted to paint figures which cast shadows, they did not use shading to imply dimension. They used pure color which have a brilliant, enamel-like finish. Religious rulings encouraged painting of patterns and abstract designs. Most natural motifs are stylized rather than realistic.

The Greeks and Romans of the Mediterranean area concentrated on ceramics rather than wood or furniture items. Tiles are not only used on the floor, but also on chests, walls, fountains and window boxes.

Decorative painting was introduced to the European countries from the Middle and Far East. The French chinoiserie pieces were decorated in imitation of Chinese art. They added feathery curves and embellishments creating the fanciful style known as rococo. The French kings enjoyed displaying their wealth on the walls, furniture and furnishings of the castles. The artists of the provinces copied the Parisian style. As the art filtered down to the common people, less expensive wood was not suitable for carving, so it was simply painted with geometric designs and rosettes.

Many of the European, Slavic and Scandinavian folk art styles are well known all over the world. Bauernmalerei, developed in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland, was originally used to enhance cheaper woods and conceal flaws. It translates as farmer painting, though most pieces were painted by traveling artisans or cabinet makers.

Swedish folk artist used linework and strokes to define flowers and leaves. Not only did they paint furniture and doors, but also room panels. These were painted on cloth or heavy paper which was attached to the wall. Biblical scenes with the figures in the local dress of the time were a favored theme to offer a pictures of the scriptures for the illiterate.

Meanwhile in Norway, Rosemaling, or rose painting developed. This style is characterized by roses and scrolls with shading and linework. It brightened the decor of homes where families spent long, dark winters. Eventually entire rooms were covered with rosemaling. There are three distinct types of roselmaling, Baroque, with symmetrical designs and bold colors, Telemark, flowing with intricate shading and linework and Rogaland, influenced by the Oriental trading vessels, with dark backgrounds and cross-hatching.

Hindeloopen was first influenced by the Norwegian styles, but soon developed its own characteristics. Chinese porcelain and chintz fabrics influenced the basic style. Designs were painted using three colors, a main color, shade color and a highlight.

Slavic folk art includes wall paintings of the Ukrain, Zhostova floral paintings and the lacquerware developed in the Volga region of Russia. Russian folk lore and fairytales were depicted on miniature lacquer pieces. Churches were filled with icons, representing religious figures.

English canalboats were decorated with roses and romantic landscapes, complete with castles and turrets. This style became known as Roses and Castles or English Canalboat. It is thought to be influenced by Romany gypsies and Dutch folk art or the japanned tinware painted in Birmingham, England.

With the influx of immigrants to America came artisans who infused the old styles with new techniques in an effort to express the New World around them. In addition to decorating furniture and tin, the medium was soon expanded to include almost any surface imaginable. Tole and decorative painting might be more properly defined as "folk" or "craft" painting in that it incorporates different styles and cultures from around the globe, encompassing everything from the primitive to fine art. Modern tole, it could be said, is actually an artistic record of what humans find of value in their day-to-day lives.


The early Decorative Artists took their inspiration from American Folk Art of the 1800's. They also looked toward Europe for European style folk art such as:Zhostova, Bavarian Folk Art, and Rosmaling. These designs were adapted and put forth in instructional books, with color photographs of the projects, for the Decorative Art student. Folk Art is still one of the most popular styles of painting today. The color palette may follow today’s trends but the techniques are still the same as used by the early folk artists.

In the 1990's as Decorative Painting has become more stylized, the variety of techniques and styles are as varied as the artist, from the most primitive to the most exquisite.


There is a lot of confusion about the term "tole painting" vs. "decorative painting".

While it is reasonably easy to trace the definition of the word "tole" from a dictionary, it is less easy to define what the term means today. Adding to this difficulty is that this style of "decorative painting" flourishes in different "niches" around the world. (For example, Russian Folk Art, such as Zhostova, continues to be produced in it's birthplace, and Russian artists are influencing American decorative painters.) This art form has many influences from the past, from numerous countries, and is constantly evolving. As a result, it is difficult to pin it down a definition.

Decorative painting in North America has been driven by it's immigrant roots. Certain areas of the US are more heavily influenced by German or Norwegian folk art, for example. It has only been since the introduction of painting books, largely since 1970, that folk art tole and decorative painting has become more generic in the US. Prior to the 1970's, if you could find someone to teach this art form at all, you would have learned Rosemaling or Bauernmalerei or one of the Colonial based painting techniques based upon historic patterns (etc.), but rarely would you find a teacher that could teach generic decorative painting (drawing from a variety of techniques, products, surfaces and styles) as most painters learn it today.

Adding to the confusion over the term "tole" is that "toleware" is a very specific kind of decorative painted, highly varnished product -- usually made from metal.

I think that we can say that "tole painting" is a form of folk art painting based upon a teachable method of specific strokes and techniques. Those same skills are also used in other forms of folk art (decorative) painting, including specific regional techniques such as Rosemaling or Zhostova (etc.), and more recently evolved "melting pot" techniques. Tole and Decorative painting is generally done on walls, furniture or useful objects.

The term "tole painting" has evolved become interchangeable with "decorative painting" in common usage, rather than solely a reference to it's historical usage as painting on metal.

Glossary:

ACRYLIC - Pigment (paint) that comes in hundreds of colors and is usually pre-mixed with water. Generally they are pre-mixed and all ready to use. Some acrylics come in tubes -- sometimes pure pigment color and not pre-mixed. Acrylic paint can be cleaned up with soap and water.

BASECOAT - Apply a solid color on your background or solidly fill in a particular object or area in the design.

BASIC PALETTE -- the main colors an artist usually always works with (see "Palette)

BRUSHES - a variety of brushes are used in Tole Painting/Decorative Painting and each type of brush comes in a variety of sizes. Basic brushes include:

Round Brush
The hairs of the brush are rounded at the bottom but they come up to a point -- almost like a "droplet" of water.
Liner
This brush has long, thin bristles and this brush can be used to "line" itmes in a painting and is also useful for painting long, slender tendrils in a floral bouquet or for writing. Very graceful, delicate lines can be produced with this brush.
Flat Brush
The tips of a flat brush is just that -- flat and straight across. Flat brushes are used most effectively for shading and highlighting.
Angle Brush
Basically is a "flat" brush but the top of the bristles are cut at an angle. Also used for shading and highlighting.
Specialty brushes include:
Mop brushes (which have a very full and fluffy head on them) used to "mop" or blend paint, Fan brushes (great for painting "grass") and Deerfoot brushes (which work well for animal fur or "stippling")
CHACO PAPER - a special paper which when a pattern is placed on top of it will transfer water soluable lines onto wood or tin,etc. to provide a pattern to paint. A "stylus" is used most effectively for this type of transfer.

DRY BRUSH - Technique utilizing a "dry" brush, with no water. Achieved by dipping brush in paint, blending on a palette and then removing most of the paint from the brush using paper towel before applying the color to the surface. This technique is often used when applying "highlights".

EXTENDER - Acrylic paints dry very quickly and "extender" is used to mix in with the paint to extend the drying time. It has a very thin consistency and is manufactured by several compnies and is clear in color.

FLIP FLOAT -- (also called a reverse-float) Apply one "sideload" of color on your surface. Then flip the brush over and lay the paint side of the brush right next to the previously applied paint and paint a second line back to back with the first float.

FLOAT COLOR - (also known as "floating" or "side-loading") Wet your brush with water or Extender. Remove most of the water from your brush by touching it on a piece of paper towel. Then touch one edge of the brush against the puddle of paint on your palette and stroke back and forth with your brush until there is a soft gradation of color from the paint on one side of the brush to clear water on the other side.

GLAZING - Painting technique involving a layer of paint applied on top of a painting that is already dry. The paint is mixed with water, glazing medium or exetnder and brushed over the area. This tends to soften the color already painted on.

GOUACHE - a type of acrylic paint (usually opaque) that is similar to regular acrylic paint but has a longer "blending" time. Clean up with soap and water.

GRAPHITE - a special paper which when a pattern is placed on top of it will copy lines onto wood or tin, etc. to provide a pattern to paint. A "stylus" is used most effectively for this type of transfer.

HIGHLIGHT -- Highlight has more than one meaning in decorative painting. It is used as both a descriptive word and an action word. As a descriptive word it means, The point on an object that receives the most light. This highlight area varies on each object depending on the direction of the light source and also the shape of the object (i.e. whether it is cylindrical, round, square, etc. As an action word, it refers to the action of highlighting. In decorative painting, floating and drybrushing are the most common ways to "highlight".

PALETTE -- the colors an artist uses to paint a particular project (See "basic palette). Term also used to denote the physical place where painter's keep their paints while working on a project.

PALETTE PAPER - a special paper (usually purchased by the pad) which has a very shiny (like wax paper) surface on one side. Because the surface is water repellant, the paint does not penetrate the paper. (See "wet palette")

PITTY-PAT OR PAT BLEND: This is a process whereby you can "soften" colors next to each other to remove a stark line between colors -- or can be used to put one color on top of another (i.e. in the case of putting a "highlight" on an object.) The brush is lifted up on down onto the surface between each stroke, often in an "X" pattern.

REVERSE FLOAT -- (also called a flip-float) Apply one "sideload" of color on your surface. Then flip the brush over and lay the paint side of the brush right next to the previously applied paint and paint a second line back to back with the first float.

SHADE: The opposite of "highlight". To shade is to apply a darker color to those areas of an object or picture that is receiving less light from the light source. Shading a part of an object also appears to make that object recede or it can make an object have contour (i.e. make an object appear "rounded" for example).

STIPPLING -- Usually a "deerfoot" or round brush is used although an old, worn out flat brush work well too. Spread the hairs of the brush out on your palette and dip into some paint. Take most of the color off your brush onto a piece of paper towel and then "dab" or "tap" on the color on your piece using very light strokes perpendicular to the painted surface.

STYLUS - A tool used for transferring your traced design to a prepared surface. It looks like a small wooden handle with a pointed piece of wire at one end with a "ball" on the end of it. A stylus also can make excellent "dots" on your surface.

TRACING PAPER - a special transparent paper which painters use to copy a pattern from a book or other pattern. This tracing is then used with graphite or chaco paper in between it and the surface to be painted as a means to transfer the lines of the pattern onto the surface. Some grades of velum may be used in photocopy machines and printers. However, the most common method of transfer is to simply place the tracing paper over the piece and manually draw the lines onto the tracing paper.

WASH - a wash is a thin, watered-down layer of paint that still allows the background color to come through. A wash can be used effectively to paint a sky in a picture, for example.

WET PALETTE -- usually consists of a small, shallow tray with a tight fitting lid. A thin sponge is provided which is to be saturated with water and laid into the tray. A special "palette paper" is pre-soaked for an hour or so and then one sheet is placed on top of the wet sponge material. Place your acrylic paint colors on top of this and the moisture from the sponge beneath will keep the paint from drying out. When you are finished, place the lid tight on top of the tray and your paint will stay useable for days. This is especially useful if you are mixing colors together. You can mix enough to do your whole project and it will stay fresh inside the tray. In warm, dry weather a small spritzer spray bottle can be used to lightly spray water over the top of the palette to keep paints moist.

WET-ON-WET - painting technique applying one color is added on top of another before the first color is dry. For example an apple could be painted red and while still wet a "pitty pat" of yellow or white could be added in the spot where the "highlight" should be. These two colors could then be blended with a very soft, dry brush and it would give a very smooth blend of colors with a soft look.

Hindenloopen Folk Art Painted by Harmen W.Glashouwer

The Artist

Harmen W. Glashouwer

Harmen W. Glashouwer, born in 1948, is one of the most talented artists in the field of Hindeloopen Art.

The Hindeloopen art, which was (and still is!) practised by artisans, came into being around 1650, during the period of Dutch Mannerism. The art was very popular in the Hindeloopen sea-captain's houses. They were colorful interiors and the furniture was decorated with floral ornaments, biblical themes and sea imagery.

Harmen W. Glashouwer got his education at the Vredeman de Vries Academy of Art at Leeuwarden. But it was his father, Willem Glashouwer, pupil of the famous Hindeloopen artist Gerard Huttinga, who taught him the specific Hindelooper painting style.

Harmen W. Glashouwer painted a.o. for the Museum Hindeloopen, the Dutch Open-air Museum at Arnhem, the Zuiderzee Museum at Enkhuizen, the Pella Historical Village (Iowa, USA) and Macy*s Department Store (USA).

His work has been featured in several magazines, a.o. House Beautiful (USA, Canada), Veranda (USA) and Dove (Italy and Japan).




Hindeloopen, a town with a personality of its own. It sits in the North of Holland, by the sea, it has lovely views, narrow streets, typical wooden bridges. Hindeloopen offers an special way of life, beautiful art, colorful costumes and its own language.


Hindeloopen is famous because of its special style of painted furniture. This art, which was practiced by many artisans, is still popular today. It is rich, colorful and decorated with biblical scenes, floral ornaments, and sea metaphors.
The art started about 1650 and was very popular in the Hindeloopen sea-captain's houses. The main background colors are red, blue, white and green and derives from late Renaissance and early Baroque
The artists used imitation marble, acanthus plants and scenes from Greek mythology.

If you would like to see more of this artist's wonderful work here is a link:
http://www.hindeloopen.com/hindeloopenart.html

Zhostovo painting

Zhostovo painting (Жостовская роспись in Russian) is an old Russian folk handicraft of painting on metal trays, which still exists in a village of Zhostovo in the Moscow Oblast. It appeared in the early 19th century mainly under the influence of the Ural handicraft of flower painting on metal. Subsequent development of the Zhostovo painting handicraft was stylistically related to porcelain and enamel painting techniques, used by factories near Moscow, flower motifs on printed cotton, produced by the Ivanovo factories, and Lukutin miniature (see Fedoskino miniature).

Zhostovo painting is a handicraft of painting on metal trays, preliminary coated with a few layers of priming (putty) and oil varnish (usually, black). Painting is done in a few consecutive energetic and firm strokes with a soft brush and oil paints, richly diluted with linseed oil. The most widely used motif of the Zhostovo painting is a bunch of mixed garden and wild flowers, which is simple and laconic in its essence. The edges of a tray are painted with a light golden ornament called уборка (uborka). A finished tray is then covered with three layers of light lacquer and polished to brilliance.

In the late 19th – early 20th century, the Zhostovo painting handicraft fell into decline. During the Soviet times, it was brought back to life after a number of artels had united themselves into one called Металлоподнос (Metal Tray) in 1928. Today, it is called the Zhostovo Factory of Decorative Painting (Жостовская фабрика декоративной росписи).

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhostovo_painting"

Rosemaling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


An example of Norwegian rosemaling on a tineRosemaling (Norwegian rose painting) is the name of a form of decorative flower painting that originated in the low-land areas of eastern Norway around 1750, when Baroque, Rengeny and Rococo, artistic styles of the upper class, were introduced into Norway's rural culture. Rosemaling designs use C and S strokes and feature scroll and flowing lines, floral designs, and subtle colors. Script lettering, scenes and figures may also be included.
Artists who specialized in rosemaling came from poorer classes in the countryside, rather than the land owners. They would travel from county to county painting churches and/or the homes of the wealthy for a commission of either money or merely room and board. Thus rosemaling was carried over the mountains and toward Norway's western coast. Once farther away from the influence of the painters' guilds, these artists tried new ideas and motifs. Rosemaling became widespread as amateur artists in rural areas often imitated this folk art. Soon strong regional styles developed and today the three main styles are Telemark, Hallingdal and Rogaland, named after the region of Norway in which each originated.

Norwegian Immigrants brought the art of rosemaling to the United States, and many of the immigrants came from parts of Norway where rosemaling was well established. They carried their belongings in beautifully rosemaled trunks, Some of the immigrants were Rosemaling painters. This generation, however, contributed little to the development of American rosemaling in the 20th century, because rosemaling began to go out of style starting in 1860.

Rosemaling experienced its revival in America in the 20th century. Norwegian-Americans became interested in the rosemaling decorated possessions of their ancestors. American rosemaling began to develop and flourish. The revival of Rosemaling in the United States is often credited to Per Lysne who was born and trained in Rosemaling in Norway. He came to America in the early 20th Century and was employed as a wagon painter in Stoughton, Wisconsin. When business slowed during the Depression he began to rosemal again. Others imitated his work.

Today Norwegian rosemaling is taught in many areas of the USA. Rosemaling associations sponsor classes and competitions.

The Three Dimensions of Color

There are three different and measurable characteristics of every color what are known as the “Three Dimensions of Color.”

HUE
This is the most obvious dimension; it identifies a color by its name, i.e. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, etc. Every color falls into a definite hue category. So if someone say’s what hue is it, you would look at the color and identify it and that would be the hue.

VALUE
Value, locates the color’s approximate position in relation to white and black. It is the lightness and the darkness of a color. We need to understand this because if you have no understanding of “value” your paintings may not ever look right. By adding white to a color you have changed the “Value” but the Hue remains the same. When we add black to a hue we get a “shade” of that color, we still have not changed the “hue” only darkened the value.
INTENSITY
This is also known as Chroma, simply put this means the “purity” or “strength” of a color. Colors are brighter in their pure state than when mixed with any other color or grey. You can change the intensity of a color by adding white or black or its complimentary color. Doing this makes them less intense. For example, if you add a touch of purple to yellow the color is weakened because you reduced its intensity