CBC Gallery Opening ~ SWS Entry

SWS Entry
"The Nightingale"
15" x 12"

I received notice that "The Nightingale" has been accepted into the Southwestern Watercolor Society 46th annual membership show in September. This was done with watercolor and collage on 300 pound paper and inspired by attending the Gerald Brommer workshop at the Artists Showplace Gallery.
See blog posts on June 09 and the week earlier.

Canvas by Canvas members, Maryann, Nancy, Connie, (Marlene from the Museum) and Cindy at the Old Post Office and Museum Center in Graham, Texas, as we break for the July 4 parade. There is very interesting reading about the history of the area and exhibits if you click on the link. Thanks to all the volunteers who made our opening day very special. Our paintings will hang there until the first part of September so if you're in the area check out our paintings. This is the first time all of them have been hung together. What a treat to see them all in one place and be reminded of the dedication and work that has gone into their production.
We met early for the 2 hour drive and were welcomed to the museum show by a wonderful staff and group of volunteers. We had some time to step outside the door and under the shade of a large tree enjoy the July 4 parade while some of us enjoyed a lesson in water witching. We loved meeting new friends, having them tell us their favorite works and were surprised by a beautiful lunch before our Graham supporters bid us goodbye. Thanks to Red and his wife, Jay and Martha, Danny, Marlene and Tom and to all our visitors - thanks so much for stopping by and introducing yourselves. You have a treasure in Graham with your museum. Thanks for the invitation to show and visit in your town.
It was hot, hot on the way home (news later said that Graham at 103 was a hot spot of the North Texas area that day.) We had a quick stop at the Weatherford Farmers Market and next weekend is their Peach Festival.
You think you really know someone? Well, think again. One of our members is a big fan of yodeling and that was news to us. She casually mentioned she had gotten a "how-to" CD and had been practicing while driving. You know the rest of the story. Put that sucker in the CD player and we'll all practice the exercises and we got a little hysterical and a few curious glances from other car passengers. We came to the agreement if we could get really good at this yodeling thing and billed ourselves as the Yodeling Collaborative Painters of Texas we'd have the world cornered by uniqueness. Maybe at our shows on opening night we could give a quick demo and wear our little black aprons arm in arm skipping around a gallery. This went on for miles. Blame it on the heat.
If this kid learned how from a tape on YouTube, do you think 8 ladies in ther "middle years" might have a chance?

Remember Star Trek
"When going out into the universe, remember; Boldly go where no man has gone before."

Enjoy the slide show below and mouse over for captions.

Arlington, Texas Nancy Standlee Daily Painter Collaborative Collage Contemporary Watercolor

Robert Burridge Workshop #6 ~ Texas

Figurative Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas 9" x 12"
I painted the two above and sold them during the workshop.

There is no where I'd rather be on a Monday morning than at a Robert Burridge workshop and those wishes were granted last week in Irving, Texas. The 5 day workshop was presented by the SWS watercolor organization with about 22 in the class and oh, what a time we had. We painted and laughed and laughed and painted. It was especially meaningful to me as 3 of my Canvas by Canvas sisters were there painting along with Bob.
Bob mentioned that Wayne Thiebaud was a great and gentle teacher. I will add that I think Bob is a great and inspiring teacher with a spirit overflowing with enthusiasm. His mantra is "Love what you do and pass it on."
This was my sixth Burridge workshop and I don't plan for it to be my last. I may have heard some of the jokes before (but I still laugh) but he is always painting something he's never seen before and inspiring the class to do the same.
It was a busy week as he gave a demo on Wednesday night at the SWS meeting and on Thursday, he and his wife, Kate, gave a marketing class. If you haven't gone to their web site and signed up for the ArtsyFartsy newsletter, you're missing out on a lot of free information, hints, and ideas. He and Kate left for California with some advice "Work larger, Show up and Do your best." They are a busy couple giving about 33 week long workshops a year and I encourage you to sign up today as it will change your painting life and outlook. It will be a week of playing in a totally safe place and painting with lovely new friends.

Enjoy the slide show below and mouse over for some captions.

Pear ~ SWS Extreme ~ Art Journal Page

30"x22" full watercolor sheet, Acrylic "Pear" on paper I am attempting to straighten some in my studio this week and on Thursday I found a very colorful acrylic "Pear" from a Burridge workshop and decided I needed a bright spot for my post today. It really looks big, doesn't it?


Art Journal Page 63
Tuesday was a fun trip to the La Cima Club and to see the Mustangs at Las Colinas. Canvas by Canvas will have a show in the club soon and Maryann, Karen, Cindy Y, and I went to check out the hanging possibilities. Wikipedia has a short article or you can read more about the bronze statues in a Google search. The 9 wild mustangs are the largest equestrian sculptures in the world.

Then always lunch is involved and some Santa Fe style Mexican Food at Via Real.
Wednesday evening another wonderful meal at the City Cafe before the SWS meeting. Who can think of a cabbage soup diet when you're invited to sample some new American - California cuisine in a white table clothed bistro? I enjoyed and ate every bite of some Diver U10 scallops and a tomato risotto. Maybe you already know this but I didn't. The "U" stands for "under" and it means fewer than 10 of these scallops make up a pound and they are the largest ones available. The Diver means a "real diver" picked them up instead of a scoop. Don't you just love the internet where you can look up all kinds of information? And just for the record, in case you get the idea I get to eat gourmet every day....I had a can of tomato soup yesterday when left to my own devices.
The Extreme SWS Tag Team Paint Off and Throw Down
Four of our award winning signature members, Harry Shields and Jane Jones, signature members of NWS, and Nel Dorn Byrd and Priscilla Krejci, signature members of AWS, presented SWS with a delightful evening of painting demos and laughter. We arrived to find 4 demo tables set up in the center of the room with 4 sheets of full size watercolor paper with the image drawn off and placed on the tables with the rest of the artist's supplies. Joel was the time keeper and each artist was allowed 10 minutes of painting time and the paintings were rotated, without the sketch or photograph included so it became an emotional response to what had been previously applied. This rotation continued for 4 times and on the 5th round the painting came back to the original owner with a few "Oh, my" or "Where are my whites?". There was a short break between the 4th and 5th rounds for announcements, snacks, and drying time. Since an overhead mirror couldn't be used, the members and guests were encouraged to walk around and view the paintings in progress. Thanks to Joel, Maureen, and our president Herb for a great evening of fun and to 4 artists with heart.
Each artist signed their first name to all four paintings and they were auctioned off and the money will be used as a prize award at the next SWS show.
Slide Show
You are invited to see my slide show of the event but be warned about the photo quality. These were quickly snapped and some are definitely lopsided or out of focus or both and the flash washed out some of the color.

Stephen Quiller Workshop ~ Watercolor-Acrylic Workshop ~ Day 2

This is Stephen's Quiller's afternoon demo and I didn't realize I didn't have a better photo but will take one tomorrow. When we have a short break, there is always a line waiting to take a photo of the progress of the painting and I can do better on this one.
Today we discussed color temperature change, color families, and working with neutrals. He said that 75% of paintings we see will be in neutrals and there is very little pure hue in his paintings. He had 2 morning demos and one in the afternoon. In the afternoon demo he didn't use a photo reference but painted from a black and white sketch he'd drawn from his memory. He thinks he gets too photographic in his painting style if he uses a photo and he likes to paint what he feels. For the landscape and tree painting today, he painted negative shapes which is always beautiful but hard to grasp at times. I will need more practice to work like this.
During one of the demo's today his cell phone rang (his wife bought it for him) and he had an important call and had to take it because he doesn't know how to retrieve his voice mail yet and yes, we gave him a hard time about that.
Wednesday evening we will leave class, get a quick dinner, and head for the SWS meeting where he will provide the program and another demo. He did say it will be something new that he has not covered in class. I will keep you posted on the progam.
Below is a slide show from the last 2 days:

Stephen Quiller Workshop ~ Jaycee Park Center for the Arts

Stephen Quiller is a Colorado boy, full time painter, and he has views to paint outside his studio window in Creede that Texans spend their vacation dollars just to visit. Today was the first day of a 5 day workshop in Irving, Texas sponsored by The Southwestern Watercolor Society. The workshop is being held in a great facility at the Jaycee Park Center for the Arts. To see the books Stephen has written, go to Amazon and search his name. His latest, WaterMedia Painting with Stephen Quiller was released in September and it has so much information it's nearly scary - watermedia, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, casein, supplies, techniques, en plein air, composition and he is a color guru. One thing I really like about the book is he gives the color pigment numbers so if you don't have the exact brand, it is easy to check to see if you might have it under another name or company. I learned about pigment numbers when I took a Hilary Page workshop several years ago in Lubbock. Yes, that's his palette above. I couldn't resist taking a photo.
He gave us ideas on color mixing and handling paint that we can take and use in our own studios. I've felt some of his information was so technical in the books but after I heard his talk about it today with demos and explanations of intensity and value and how to set up your palette, I found it very enlightening. Today he was preparing a foundation for the rest of the week with short demos. He prefers to paint on 300 pound rough paper.


The two paintings above are Stephen's that he used today to show us how to use complements and the colors in these were red orange and phthalo blue. He didn't draw anything on the paper but began with a flat brush, water and the 2 colors. Amazing, isn't it.
Now below, what is even more amazing is my painting trying to do what Stephen did and I didn't even use carbon paper and trace. This was a huge step for me with just a 1 1/2" flat brush. However, this is the only study I did and most of the class did 2 or 3 while I was still figuring out filling my Quiller travel palette.
Our class is full with a waiting list and it is a testament to Stephen's reputation as a fine contemporary painter. The first 3 days will be devoted to watercolor and the last 2 days for acrylics. He says this about acrylics, "Acrylic is the most versatile medium we have today." He feels it's exciting to explore it as watermedia and try out experimental techniques. Sounds great to me.
Painting by Nancy, approximately 11"x15", watercolor landscape

Arne Westerman Workshop ~ Day 3 and 4 ~ SWS

Thursday’s report of the Arne Westerman SWS workshop – some thoughts and slide show. See the slide show below and mouse over for the names.
From Arne on Wednesday:
1. A “clean palette” is a sign of an empty mind. (You can view his palette in yesterday’s slide show.)
2. A few color mixtures we tried: English Red or Indian Red makes a good fleshy tone. Add a touch of Cerulean for variation and to mute the red. Cerulean Blue and Cad. Red light makes a great gray. Permanent Rose and Cad. Yellow light or New Gamboge makes a good flesh tone. He loves lilac. Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue makes a cool gray. Cad. Red light and Thalo Blue makes a good black. He does not use a tube black but mixes other colors for black. Manganese Blue and Permanent Rose makes a nice mixture or near each other to mix some. Indian Red and Thalo Blue makes a dark. Cad. Red light and any blue will give a brown.
His color choices are made during the color sketch. Leave enough room on the border edges to make some color trials.
3. Always use the largest brush.
4. He showed us how to increase the size of the color sketch by drawing diagonal lines on the sketch and one-half sheet of watercolor paper. One of the slides showed the process. This resulted in pencil drawings on the color sketch and these were small paintings in themselves and I would use tracing paper instead or use a copy machine to blow up the image or digitize the photo.
5. In the afternoon, the class drew and painted from a live model with beautiful red hair. Some of the slides show some paintings and studies done from this model.
6. Wednesday evening, Arne gave the SWS program by showing and discussing his work with a slide presentation with a few jokes thrown in.
Some thoughts from Thursday:
1. We should be better on Friday than we were on Monday. (Let’s hope so.)
2. A painting is a work in progress. We saw more slides on what makes a good painting and we did quick thumbnail sketches of the painting structure such as was the painting made of rectangles, pyramid, etc. He stressed again about not having two things equal but let one dominate and be the center of interest.
3. He talked and showed us how to take the model from the room where we are and put her at home by adding interesting vertical and horizontal elements and accents.
4. When adding some touches to final facial features on an under painting, he might moisten the paper before adding the eyes or other features.
5. In the afternoon, the participants painted on their big project and Arne walked around to each one to assist with any problems. This is a rare teacher that gives the students as much private consultation as he does and with a very good attitude. At the end of the day, there was a group critique using the overhead mirror so we learned from each other’s mistakes and successes. He thinks we’re doing great and I hope you like our slide show. Not all the class members have work included.
6. The assignment for Friday: Bring in another photo and be prepared to start on a new thumbnail and color sketch in preparation for a new painting.
7. I’m already thinking about what all I have to do this weekend and asking myself if I can squeeze in any time to paint more figurative watercolors so I won’t forget some of the wonderful points made this week. Let’s see mail, bills, Thanksgiving cooking – I’ll have to make some time.

http://artistfoodnetwork.blogspot.com

http://canvasbycanvas.blogspot.com

http://myspace.com/nancystandlee

TO VIEW MORE PAINTINGS OR PURCHASE: Go to Paypal on

http://nancystandlee.blogspot.com

Eat Well ~ Paint Your Food ~ Laugh Often

Arne Westerman Workshop ~ Day 2 ~ SWS

Tuesday at the Arne Westerman Figurative Workshop Slide Show Below

1. Tuesday morning we were treated to slides of various paintings with detailed discussions on what makes a painting work, with emphasis on balance, center of interest, separation of elements, color , shapes, texture, light and movement. It is all about placement and it’s up to the artist to make the best use of the placement of the figure or center of interest, and to look at paintings with a discerning eye about structure and if the painting works or not. One point he made that needs to be repeated “Just because the artist doesn’t like the painting, the collector may want that particular work because of style or subject matter.” After this day, we should all know HOW to make a good painting.

2.We can’t be Norman Rockwell because he died. You paint with your own feelings and emotion and that makes it you. No one can paint like you.

3. Plain is good for backgrounds.

4. He uses masking tape to secure the edges on 140 Hot Press Fabriano paper to give us a demo color sketch study and a painting. He likes Fabriano because it was easy to lift and change a section. For his painting demo, he used a figure ironing a piece of clothing drawn from a model. He liked the model because of she was “zoftig” and no one knew what he was talking about. He asks “Are there no Jews in her?” It seems it’s a good Jewish term for a healthy, plump woman. Some of the participants were more concerned about what the ironing board and iron were?

5. When asked about using fresh paint, his response “You don’t have to worry about anything” and in other words, just paint, get something down. And he kept reminding us, we can do anything we want. The artist is in control and can move and change anything they want.

6. Watch out for mid tones against mid tones as it doesn’t say much.

7. There was much discussion on “killing this figure” and that referred to making one figure less dominant and let one be the center of interest. “Kill one to make one live” was frequently heard during our critique.

It has been good day learning about what makes a good painting. He was very gracious to visit each table while we were working on our color sketch, often sitting down with a brush and showing us what he’d do. He’d asked previously if anyone minded if he paints on any of our work. There was a lot of good natured repartee during this time of color sketches and the following critique. Arne is a treasure, full of information and knows how to fix our mess ups. His book was one of the first painting books I purchased and I can recommend it for its useful information. You can read about it from the Amazon widget on the side of my blog or Arne has the books for sale on his web site. The slide show will be short as we were rushed after the critique to clear the room for a meeting. More slides on Thursday. Wednesday morning we’ll learn how to transfer our thumbnails or color sketch and in the afternoon we’ll have a model to draw and paint from. Wednesday evening Arne will give the program for SWS showing the slides of his work.

Mouse over to see slide captions.

Other blogs where I post:

http://artistfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/

http://canvasbycanvas.blogspot.com/

http://myspace.com/nancystandlee

TO VIEW MORE PAINTINGS OR PURCHASE: Go to Paypal on

http://nancystandlee.blogspot.com/

Eat Well ~ Paint Your Food ~ Laugh Often

(All of the captions where I used Name..Thumbnail...most should have been Name..Color Sketch will change later)

Yellow Flower, Yellow Vase ~ Acrylic on Canvas ~ Nancy Standlee Art Blogs ~ N

NFS
16" x 20" acrylic, unframed on stretched 5/8" deep canvas, secured at the sides with staples
This was painted last winter during a class with Vern Johnson at the Upstairs Gallery and tonight he is having an opening reception of his Midland works at the Gallery. Vern teaches drawing and painting classes there. I see the Gallery has started a blog.
I found my Vern flower painting and decided to post it as I haven't painted anything new this week. On Monday I painted at the Gallery in gouache and those two paintings need some more attention. My week has been spent getting a little corner of my house organized. I've attended so many workshops the past 6 weeks and had so much fun this house stuff can really be boring. I still like to paint in my kitchen to be near the music and the snacks because the one room upstairs does not have a water supply. Basically I'm moved a bunch of kitchen stuff to the living room and now need to straighten the living room. My children have been warned about the need of a big dumpster when it's time to have the estate sale but in the mean time, my daughter mentioned a "fire hazard". I discourage all visitors and prefer meeting them in the front yard until I get some of this under control. You know what I really want to be doing today? I'm scheduled for an Arne Westerman workshop in a few weeks and I want to sit down with his book and do his color exercises. I've taken from him in Fort Worth several years ago and I think I'm ready to absorb some more from this wonderful painter.

SWS Workshops

Arne Westerman Workshop, November 12 - 16, 9:30-3:30
Jaycee Park, Irving
Demo: Wednesday, November 14, 7 - 9 PM
Fretz Recreation Center, Dallas

Other blogs where I post:

http://artistfoodnetwork.blogspot.com

http://canvasbycanvas.blogspot.com

http://myspace.com/nancystandlee

TO PURCHASE PAINTINGS: Go to Paypal on http://nancystandlee.blogspot.com

Eat Well ~ Paint Your Food ~ Laugh Often