"Searching for Paradise" Art Entry and Saladino Class

"Searching for Paradise"
18" x 24" Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas
This figurative work is for sale at the exhibit in the September 11-26, 09, 7th annual art show and sale, Preservation is the Art of the City, Fort Worth, located in the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. Each of the 50 selected artists will have a 36" x 72" space and can place as many works as will fit within this space. (4 pieces max.) The artists can have another 4 pieces, max. 14", in the miniature section and 1 work associated with Fort Worth preservation and not to exceed 30". A portion of the sales to to help fund preservation programming. The turquoise pattern to the left of the figure is a little too dominant so it may get a little tweaking.

Tony Saladino Critique Class July 9
I took the painting above and another I'll post later and below is a slide show of others' work from the class. Mouse over for captions.
One of the perks of attending the critique class is to sit surrounded by Tony's beautiful abstracts and see his newest works. You can view some of his fabulous work at this current show at the B. Deemer Gallery.
Tony talked to us in this class about simplify and combine parts of a painting that is not working and about it being O.K. to be all over the place before we develop a "thrust" and settle in. Similar to me taking so many workshops and I get asked about getting mixed up in techniques. I don't and guess I've been all over the board and probably still am, but if nothing else I learn I don't want to paint like that and that is a good lesson. I would love to learn some of Tony's painting methods.
He says "The painting has to have interest to grab your attention. If it's pleasing to your eye, it will be pleasing to others." One of his comments on Thursday kept focusing on how many paintings we might find in our one painting. He would take a mat and show us and then ask us to think about simplifying some of the areas and combining colors.
We had to laugh when Paula said "I hate to show my work after the simplify discussion. I'm the "Queen of Dull" and I decided to loosen up since Tony's one day workshop." We loved her busy and colorful wheels and clocks painting and especially her abstract. Check out the slide show and see the other interesting paintings from the critique. Yes, we had a good Mexican lunch together at the "Tequila Rain" restaurant. I think that would make a great painting title.

Watercolor and Gouache Painting ~ "Memories"

"Memories Begin to Fade"
15" x 11"
Watercolor and Gouache on 140 Hot Press Paper

I'm thinking about gouache today and about preparing for my second workshop with Donna Zagotta. This was painted in another of my favorite painter's workshop, Carla O'Connor. Carla uses gouache. Donna prefers watercolor mixed with Winsor and Newton Designers Permanent White Gouache. I don't know what I prefer yet but like the ability to rework passages that need a little improvement and it's difficult to do with straight watercolor. These two ladies are close to the top of my favorite figurative painters list.

I get the Robert Genn's newsletters and he'll probably call my sentimental title "barfy". This week he was discussing "changing titles". His quote and my comment on his web site:

Genn's quote "Sentimental titles are the last bastion of scoundrels, and can add significant barf to an already barfy work."

My comment: "I forwarded this article to my painting friends and said ouch..he's talking to me but after emailing back and forth I've decided I like my barfy titles 'cause I get a lot of them listening to country music and I bet you think country music is pretty barfy too. I liked your other comments on titles as they always give one pause. The next time I title something like "I Can't Let Go" I'll think of your disapproval."

Do you think coming up with a title is hard? Is it easier to say Untitled #1, #2, etc? I know I do that with some of my Lylas paintings..just 1, 2, 3. I sorta like "barfy" titles then I'm a big country western music fan and the songs can get pretty sentimental.

Other blogs where I post:
Daily Painters of Texas
Daily Abstract Painters Gallery
Canvas by Canvas

Arlington Texas Nancy Standlee Daily Painter Contemporary Watercolor Gouache Expressionist

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

Purple Onion Painting by Nancy Standlee

NFS
9" x 12" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

This onion painting hangs in my kitchen and in direct sight while I enjoy my morning coffee. It is a wonderful reminder of a trip to Dena Wenmohs ranch and the two workshops I've taken there with Robert Burridge. When I stayed in the Bunkhouse, Dena had colorful onion paintings in the kitchen and I wanted to paint something similar when I returned home. Wonderful memories. February 2010 will find me back at the ranch taking my 7th workshop with Bob and maybe this time I'll get it right.
I decided to post this today as I was thinking onions after making an oil and vinegar salad dressing. To see this delicious recipe and read the story go to the Artist Food Network.

I have been invited to post on these blogs so please check the sites. I'm excited about both of them and their future.

Daily Painters of Texas
This is a unique blend of Texas Artists who will post daily. Canvas by Canvas members who have joined are Barbara Hackney, Cindy Yandell, Karen Foster, Maryann Stephens, and Margie Whittington.

Daily Painters Abstract Gallery
This site has been created to share the works of abstract artists across the world who are committed to their craft and paint daily.

ARLINGTON TEXAS ~ NANCY STANDLEE ~ DAILY PAINTER ~ CONTEMPORARY ~ ACRYLIC ~ STILL LIFE ~ EXPRESSIONIST ~ VEGETABLE PAINTING

Tony Saladino Abstract Acrylic Class

"Choose Your Dream", 20" x 20", Acrylic with some collage on gallery wrapped canvas, 1 1/2" depth (Click on the image to enlarge)

"A man's reach must exceed his grasp, or else what's a heaven for?" Robert Browning
Tony Saladino began our one day abstract acrylic class with these words to remind us that this is a journey and we should not expect to leave in the afternoon with a finished painting, but concentrate on the process and find our personal expression of marks and color. We had an advantage painting in a beautiful studio and grounds in North Richland Hills. Thanks Karen. I've included some photos at the end in a slide show which show the progression of his demo and he used a landscape photo for the initial reference.
Tony uses Purdy house painting brushes from Lowes in sizes 1", 1 1/2", and the 2" being his favorite and he scumbled his color keeping a fairly dry brush. In fact, he didn't wash his brush until about 20 minutes into his demo. A hint: He kept a blank canvas nearby to scumble leftover brush color before picking up new color. He says it's OK to look childlike in expression as it frees us from trying to please others. He urged us to bring all the areas of the painting together at the same time and not finish one area to completion. As his demo progressed he had many layers of color and areas of very thick paint with some of the layers showing through. He feels it lets your personality come through. He continually stressed to us "It's not about the subject but the division of space."


A painting he brought to show us above.
Tony didn't finish his demo as his ideas will change with future viewings. He feels it's finished when he thinks it's stimulating or stimulates a viewer. If you enjoy a good Argentine tango, search the dance floor as you might find Tony or Karen. In fact Karen's studio doubles as a tango dancing space. During the critique, Tony respected each individuals personal marks and inspired each of us to express those that reside deep within.
He was correct that we should not expect to leave the class with a finished painting as I finished the above painting in my studio and had good starts on two others before the day ended. What a great day of painting on June 10. His next critique class will be July 9.

Mouse over the photo for captions.

Gerald Brommer Workshop ~ Week Two ~ Collage

11" x 11" watercolor collage on 300 lb. paper.
I enjoyed working on this piece and started out just getting paper down and that included some old postage stamps I'd torn from envelopes. I cut them in two and if you click on the image you might see Cary Grant in the middle left area of the dark black section under the gold (candy wrapper I think). Some of the pieces were from the inside of privacy envelopes. It was fun to experiment. I washed over some gold paint (Liquitex's acrylic Basics value series gold). It works great for some light washes mixed with water or a little medium. At the bottom of the painting I added some "Brommer Sanskrit writing" for interest. Most of the painting was made from watercolor painted pieces of oriental papers and then torn into the desired shapes.

Nancy and Jerry

My copy of one of his favorite books has arrived and I'm in the process of reading it now. You may be lucky and find a copy in a used book store. Many are very expensive online as they are out of print. The book is Emotional Content: How to Create Paintings That Communicate, @ 2003, publisher International Artist. Gerald focuses on identifying, developing and conveying your own message and personal response to a scene or image. It helps the artist make the leap from mastering technique to mastering the message.

P.S.
Friends are saying I couldn't find Cary Grant so I've cropped the high resolution image and here he is. Turn your head sideways and he's between the gold and the purple in the center section. Reminds me of playing "Where's Waldo". "Can you see me now" says Archibald Alec Leach.

Gerald Brommer Workshop ~ Floral Collage ~ Art Journal Pages

Floral Collage
11" x 15"
Gerald Brommer gave instructions that he didn't want to see any pistils or stamens in our floral collages. I got that one covered in my floral painting above but Jerry's florals below are outstanding. I had time to start a second one but it is not finished yet. The muted gray color in the background (the negative shape) was achieved by watercolor with a little white gouache and applying and then dabbing with a Kleenex to give it more texture. We glued the larger pieces down first, tried to have a focal point, and to make an impression of a flower. We used watercolor to edges of flowers to round off some edges and to make interesting marks. Most of the painting is made from collaged pieces of watercolor painted Oriental rice papers or washi.

Click on the images to enlarge.



These two 11" x 15" paintings (above and below) are Jerry's and I love them both, don't you?

Books:
I will mention one of the books he has written that he told us about.
He feels that this book is important one to teach art history in the school system.
"Discovering Art History" by Davis. I found a third edition online used and it has 638 pages and about 9" x 12" so this will be enjoyable art tour across centuries for a long time.

Art Journal Page 98 and 99
I didn't make daily entries while I was packing or attending the Gerald Brommer workshop for 2 weeks. The thumbnail drawings at the top of page 99 are similar to Jerry's drawing exercises he does. He has no plans for them (he did make copies and glue some of them in a collage - so did I but that's later). He fills sketchbooks up with these so when it comes time to design a painting it's automatic. He will make these in airports or while waiting somewhere. The week one workshop was "Stained Papers and Collage" and week 2 was "Designing with Watercolor or Acrylics and Collage". I made a small 5" x 5" collage on 140 paper for my journal "Cowboy Kisses" and used wedging to create movement. Someone brought Hershey kisses for snacks one day and since I have a chocolate deficit those little kisses tags were all around my work place and I've found them in pockets and art supplies while unpacking. So why not put one in a collage to remind me of that week where we worked with Mr. Brommer or Dr. Jer and I sometimes called out for help.