HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween

Our weather guessers say we are in for a rough Halloween, with wind and heavy rain storms.  Those witches and spooks will be flying, if they are brave enough to come out tonight.

WORKSHOP DAY 3

The first part of the day, 10-11:30, was spent with Fran telling us about the shape of the head, where the eyes, nose, mouth, ears are placed.  That we need to measure angles in the head (like the angle of the nose - is it straight across or does it go up on one side).  She had some drawings on tracing paper to illustrate this.  We only got to spend 1 1/2 hours on this because the model was scheduled to arrive at noon and we had to eat lunch before she arrived.

If you're going to draw or paint portraits, you will need to learn the general rules and then learn to measure to check that your model's nose isn't longer than normal, or that he has a large forehead and small chin, etc.  Each person is different and each person's features are different.  So, get yourself a good drawing portraits book and you'll learn all these rules that will help you start.  

As for sight measuring, I've only seen that used in a figure drawing class and I thought I knew how to do it until I began trying with our model at noon - and then everything I had learned flew out the window!

Our model for the afternoon (sorry about the blurred photo).
She was a professional, sitting for long stretches of time without a break, and not complaining - and not moving at all!!

And here is my sketch of the model, in my Aquabee Sketchbook.  In looking through previous sketches in that book, I see it's been since 2009 that I was doing figure drawing through Manifest Gallery's Drawing Center!  I need to get back to that because it's obvious that you lose it if you don't use it!

Due to the nature of the workshop, we didn't have easels and weren't standing to draw - we sat at our tables and tilted our paper upright so we wouldn't get too much distortion.  Fran said to leave out her arms because I'd made them too small, so I just painted her head and shoulders when I began painting.  We drew first, then painted, while the model still sat and posed.

Again, background first (this drawing was traced onto watercolor paper and I left out a lot that I was going to try to put in with paint later).  I hated it and it was too solid and heavy, so I went back and sprayed it off with a heavy-duty sprayer.  That's what caused the streaks.

Then hair - I tried to keep it light and painterly.  I was using only three colors through the painting:
Raw Sienna
Quinacridone Rose
French Ultramarine Blue

This is where I finished up.  She doesn't look like the model - more like the model as a young girl?  Not sure I'll do more to it but might try this one again since I have the sketch to work from and the model's photo for colors.

The three days were tough.  Long hours, Fran was a real task-master, working us hard and no fooling around chatting with your neighbor - back to work!!  Fran teaches workshops in the Columbus, OH area (she's done workshops at the Columbus Museum of Art).  If you're interested in seeing her work, just google Fran Mangino and her midlife series will come up, along with a couple of articles she wrote about using photographs as reference material and projecting your work and tracing (which she showed us on the 2nd day of the workshop).  I don't think her webpage has been updated in a while - but you can google her name and some of her more recent paintings will come up.

WORKSHOP DAY 1 + 2

Just finished a 3-day workshop with Fran Mangino, an Ohio artist who has been accepted and won awards in the Ohio Watercolor Society juried shows and the Cincinnati Art Club Viewpoint juried shows, as well as winning first place in The Arnold Schwartzenegger art venue in Columbus, OH.  

Fran is adamant about stretching and stapling your paper to gatorboard (or a similar surface) before working on your painting.  She said the artist, Paul Jackson, told her if she would do that, her work would rise a level - and she has been doing that ever since.  So in prep for the workshop, we had to have our paper stretched, stapled and ready to go the first day.  I did not soak my paper but wet it on both sides until it was soaking wet, then placed it on the gatorboard and stapled it before it dried very much at all.  My paper still buckled when I worked on it, so I'm not convinced it makes a difference - plus I like tilting and moving and twisting my paper as I'm working on it without the extra weight and stiffness of the gatorboard.  But I did try it :)

The first day, Fran had us trace a drawing she had done of a drummer girl from an Asian event held in Columbus, OH.  She was one of many drummers on stage and the red hair caught Fran's eye.  Unfortunately, a hand holding a drumstick was in the drawing and we all traced it - then discovered it was the hand of the male drummer next to the girl and so looked backwards.  And none of us could erase it before it was painted - so I just left it out of my painting.  

Fran insists that the first thing you do is take a small sketch and decide on your background color.  So we did 3 small versions of the drummer girl (from a 4 x 6 photo) on scrap paper and then tried out 3 difference backgrounds, choosing our favorite before beginning our large (half sheet) painting.

Here is Fran's paper.  She has 4 little versions to choose the background color, then her larger piece (taped off from the studies) is drawn and ready to go.

Fran said to plan our paintings and then paint - and stop being so timid!




Fran put her background in using a large puddle of colors.  She had just taken a workshop with Mary Whyte, and told us Mary uses the same colors in her backgrounds that she uses on her skintones - Raw Sienna, Quinacridone or Permanent Rose, and French Ultramarine Blue.  She picks 2 of those colors and adds a third and makes her background.  This way, you get color harmony in your painting.

Fran's color was a dark green color, not much variety in the colors, but mixed on the palette and then put on the paper.  

The background color was painted all around the drummer girl - so you had to have a large, dark puddle of color mixed up to do this on your own version when it was time for us to go back and paint.  Although there was no variety in the color in the background, that was created by lifting and leaving some white areas untouched around the green.

Then it was time to paint in that red hair.

Mixing several colors (see top photo) of burnt sienna, cadmium red, french ultramarine blue (but not mixing them on the palette), Fran pulled from the burnt sienna first and then put in darks and more color interest with the other 2 colors.  The hair, at this point, had hard edges all around.  Fran talked about softening edges and how you must have soft edges in order to avoid making your subject look like it's pasted on the background.  In this case, her hair had to be softened all around and around her headband to make it look natural.  This was done with an almost dry brush and "smooshing" it around the edges, lifting out some of the color and softening everything.  Fran also said we need to throw away our synthetic brushes and invest in Kolinsky sable brushes.

Then it was time to start on the skintones.  Again, using Mary Whyte's favorite mix, Fran mixed up Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Rose and French Ultramarine and began working on the skin.  Here is where you look closely at your photograph to see the colors, the highlights, the shadows and the small changes in the skin.

Fran walked around the room constantly, picking up brushes, giving orders (at one point, one of the workshoppers asked her how long she'd been in the army! ha ha) and advice on colors and edges, as we all worked on our versions of the drummer girl.
And we eventually got to the place where we could put in the colors in the girl's "white" outfit.

Of course, although the outfit was white, we had to use color to convey that and to get the shadow shapes in the fabric of her tunic and headband.  

We were supposed to be using the a bit of the color we chose for our background, but we all began like Fran did, with blues and violets in the shadows.  Then we had to go back and add in that background color, not matter what color we chose.

Fran has all her lights and medium values in the painting at this point and now it was time to put in the darks - and the eyes.

Fran's finished version of the drummer girl.  You can see where she tied in the green background in the clothing at this point.

Our homework, after the first exhausting day, was to go home and, using your own photograph, draw it on your watercolor paper then wet, stretch, and staple your paper to gatorboard (or a similar support).  So we'd be ready for Day 2 and would be doing our own paintings.


Here is the first day finish - my version of the little drummer girl:

I did not get the skintones finished, I put in the drumstick because it was too darkly drawn to leave out, and I need to darken values in the clothing and drum.  Her eyes are not finished at all.  
But I worked continuously - a long 6 hours standing and painting with homework after!!

There is a lot wrong with this but I never expect to paint something good in a workshop.  A workshop is for experimenting, trying new things you didn't think about before, and for seeing how others handle the same thing. 



For my portrait for the 2nd day, I chose a photograph of an artist blogger, Molly Brose.  I used to follow her blog all the time and she was doing some interesting and beautiful work on yupo with watercolor, graphite and China markers (a waxy pencil).  But she quit posting back in 2009 after having a baby.  Anyway, this photo is not mine so I won't use it for anything but study - but I loved the light on her face so wanted to try to duplicate that.  

When I brought my work in and had my background color chosen, Fran asked me why I wanted to make the background green and didn't want to use that gorgeous red that was in the photo.  I was going to use a green background and make her hair red - but I stuck with the photo colors.

I didn't draw this freehand, but traced the photo, then enlarged it on our printer and traced that onto the half sheet of watercolor paper.  Fran was also not happy that I made it a horizontal, not a vertical (like the photo).  (I thought I was using my artistic license and making changes I wanted to make.)

  

This is as far as I got the second day.  Background went in first.  Then the dark hair.

I had it on too heavy all around her face, so Fran came around and lifted some areas, talking about making it more painterly and not so hard-edged.  (I hadn't had time to lift and blend around the face so Fran did that, too.)  She walked around and helped everyone individually, commenting, asking for changes to be made or making those changes herself (which was okay, it's just a study).

So this is a painting of a person from a photo I didn't take, didn't get permission to paint her, and Fran helped with the hair.  

Fran pointed out that, in my drawing on the watercolor paper, I'd made her shoulders too narrow.  She asked me to look at her (Fran), measure her head width, then see how wide her shoulders were compared to her head - I did that and saw that I had made Molly's shoulders too narrow.  I widened them but I probably did too much. 

So two days hard work and struggling and on the third day we rest?  NO!!!  We work from a live model!!!

Stay tuned...

EXPERIMENTATION 2

I think this one is finished. 


Acrylic ink + Watercolor on 
half sheet 140# cold press Fabriano 
watercolor paper 




Land and Sea No. 1


Need to drive up to Evergreen and pick up my painting from the show.
No sale this time.  While I'm doing that, Sweetie is in charge of the workers who are coming to put down new carpet this morning.  It's going to look great!!!

WEEKEND WORKSHOP WITH FRAN MANGINO

I'm on my 3rd day of a 3-day workshop taught by Ohio artist, Fran Mangino.  I come home exhausted mentally and don't want to do anything - but we had homework the first evening :(  I am not used to painting and standing (I can't paint while sitting right over the painting on the table) for 6 hours straight and my body is telling me that.  

The subject is portraits and I need help (and more dedicated practice time) with that subject!  So...I'll let you know how it went after I've recovered from 3 solid days of painting and learning.

EXPERIMENTATION

Beach Scene No. 1  (1/4 sheet watercolor paper)

I saw something that caught my eye in the latest Watercolour magazine (shipped from the UK).  I wanted to see if I could do something similar.   While the middle "water" was wet, I laid torn bits of spider webbing over it and put a piece of paper on top of it and then some books - and let it dry before pulling off the spider webbing.  
It looks like a beach scene, with the wave ready to crash onto the beach.

No photo reference, just began with watercolor on a half sheet.  Wiping the color on with a large flat brush.  Breaking up the design and coming up with some organic shapes.  I tacked it onto my bulletin board and drizzled acrylic inks over it and let them run down down down.  
Not finished but close.  
  

Land and Sea No. 1  (1/2 sheet watercolor paper)

This was a lot brighter before the acrylic ink dried.  I'll have to remember that the bright acrylic inks dry duller and more muted.

MISTY MORNING

Sweetie and I took a trip this past weekend - just a 2 hour drive southeast - to hike in Natural Bridge State Resort Park.  The leaves were not in full autumn glory.  In fact, the spots of bright red, orange, or gold, were few and far between.  A late autumn?  Or no autumn at all?  

Although I wasn't the only one huffing and puffing to make the almost straight up climb to Natural Bridge (a .75 mile hike), I realized how out of shape I am and my body was tired that evening.  We hiked a lot, ate too much (they don't serve small servings or small meals at the Hemlock Lodge dining room!!), and didn't sleep well at all the night we spent at the Hemlock Lodge.  (The Lodge was fine with every room having a balcony surrounded by trees, but the fan kept clicking on and off all night and I never sleep well the first night in a strange place.)

Since we didn't sleep well, we rose early the next morning and took another hike (this curving and downward moving path was much easier, ending at the lodge pool area and pond first so the hike back up didn't seem so hard on our legs).  The early morning mist on the water and sunlight streaming through the trees was beautiful and we were the only ones out and about.  Quiet, beautiful nature at it's best.  

Everyone down in southeastern Kentucky says their fall is late in coming.  I wonder if a day trip, just to drive down and hike and return home at night,  is in order later?  Maybe a phone call first to ask about the leaf colors.  Autumn may just not come this year.  They are predicting snow this week!

There is something completely rejuvenating (even if you're pushing yourself physically) about nature.  There is a special joy and contentment that comes from walking in the woods, hearing birds singing, seeing and hearing little streams racing down rock faces to create mini waterfalls, crunching through leaves that cover the ground path, just hiking and looking around, breathing in the air.  I could live in the woods. 

What about you?  What place makes you happy?  

Are you a woods person or a seaside person?  

Do you need a mountain view, or a small, secluded valley blanketed with early morning fog?  

NOT A PRETTY PAINTING

I'm in a restless mood.  I am not finding inspiration that lasts more than an hour or two. I know I need to "find" my own voice and my own subjects that truly move me and can sustain me.
  
So far, I've flitted from this to that.  Except for the crow series, I haven't really landed and stayed on anything for very long.  

While waiting for a pretty painting to dry, I began thinking about pretty paintings - and if that is what I want to paint.  And I, as much as anyone else, enjoy seeing a beautiful painting.  

I painted this (Tap Root) just from putting down colors, creating shapes and textures.

I think I need to take some time for goal setting, thinking, and perhaps less time on the computer.  

Time away for a while will be good, I think.  Although I know I can't stay away for long - this blogging thing has become a habit.

What, if anything, does my work say about me and my life?  
Maybe it's time to do some experimentation; time to paint a few ugly paintings until I come up with what I'm looking for in my work.  

See you soon!

PART OF A POEM

A partial excerpt from 

The Magpie's Shadow

The Magpie's Shadow

by Yvor Winters

I. IN WINTER

Myself

Pale mornings, and 
   I rise. 

Still Morning

Snow air--my fingers curl.

Awakening

New snow, O pine of dawn!

Winter Echo

Thin air! My mind is gone.

The Hunter

Run! In the magpie's shadow.

No Being

I, bent. Thin nights receding. 

The Magpie's Shadow was published in 1922 as a collection of short, experimental poems. While studying at the University of Chicago, Winters was diagnosed with tuberculosis and decided to relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the sake of his health. His early poems, published in 1921 and 1922, were all written at a tuberculosis sanitarium.

PITCHER PLANTS HANGING

I was going to use the acrylic ink + watercolor technique for this.  But then I realized that I don't like using masking fluid and I don't do well with using it (the hard edges leave me struggling to soften without wiping away everything).  So...just went the straight watercolor route with this painting.

From a photo taken in Florida a few year's ago.  Sweetie and I were in a park and there was a plant sale. Saw these hanging in individual pots from a hanger - they are pitcher plants and looked so interesting.

Which way do you like them best?  They actually were hanging down like the second version, but I kind of like the first one that is upside down.

More to do to finish it and I have a couple of experimental things going on, too.  

NO MORE BLOOMING WISTERIA

Back in May of this year, I drove over to my allergist's office for my regular allergy shot - and was met with this gorgeous display of wisteria in full bloom.  I had to stop and take photos.  

The wisteria was completely covering the gazebo underneath until all you saw was the top part of the structure.

I am glad I took a few photos.

Because a construction crew working on the building beside the gazebo has bulldozed the gazebo and the wisteria to the ground!  It should be a crime to destroy something so beautiful as that blooming wisteria and that cute gazebo.  I almost cried...

So instead of a One Word Wednesday, I'm sharing how lovely this was just a few months ago.  All things are impermanent.  But I'm finding it more difficult all the time to be okay with that when it seems loveliness is being bulldozed and ugliness is what replaces it. 

 I could be wrong now...but I don't think so (as the Monk theme song says).

  

POSSIBLE NEW STUDENTS

Yesterday, my hair stylist and her daughter came by the house and I gave them a "tour" of all the materials they might want or need to buy if they want to paint in acrylics - not the traditional heavy body acrylics but fluid acrylics or acrylic inks - on canvas.  They both have ideas they want to try out and I had plenty for them to them about, demonstrating texturing canvas with sponges, spider webbing and squeegees.  Then I talked to them about canvas types and surfaces and colors.  They left with a list of things to buy and some colors to choose for what they want.  I think they may return when they've purchased their goodies and have tried it and we'll do something here, with my helping them paint on canvas the way they want - before they purchase high end canvas.  

They both said they were leaving "so excited" and I hope they do enjoy - and perhaps come for a few classes - sometime in the near future.  We'll see what happens.  

TEXTURED PAINTING ON YUPO

I worked on the YUPO painting a bit more and I think it looks better.

I think the students in my class want to paint this on regular watercolor paper next.  Then we might try out Tyvek, that interesting substrate that Myrna Wacknov uses all the time.

I did begin a drawing on tracing paper of the next acrylic ink + watercolor subject.  
This time I'll go slower, be more careful with the drawing on the watercolor paper, and take more time applying the masking fluid.  Different colors and a horizontal format for this one.

It's from a photo taken in Florida a few year's ago of hanging pitcher plants.  More drawing will be done before I begin the tracing onto watercolor paper.

ACRYLIC INK + WATERCOLOR

Stage 1.  

Drawing on watercolor paper (140# cold press Fabriano) with masking fluid used around some of the objects but not everything.  Acrylic ink colors dripped and dabbed on the very wet paper to blend and move.

Stage 2.

Watercolor painted over the dried acrylic paint - paper is painted on while dry, not pre-wet.  Darkening and shaping some of the objects.  (Not happy about the leaves in the "center" behind the berries that looks like a really big, really green hummingbird!  Masking fluid still on at this stage.

Stage 3.

Masking fluid removed.  Look at all that white paper I have to blend or cover?  This is really the ugly stage - I think.

Stage 4.

More watercolor painted over the acylic underpainting.  Cropped a bit more and some more leaves faked around - which don't look right.  Big green hummingbird still there :(


Well, I can't really call this successful but I know why it failed and will do better next time.  I'll consider this a test and a trial of the technique.  I don't like painting around and blending the whites left by the masking fluid - maybe I can paint something without all the whites?  I have another photo chosen to try and will think about this more before drawing it out.  

No comments necessary.  I wouldn't want you to try to be kind and tell me it's okay! ha ha

IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY...

Here is a link to an interesting post from Clint Watson over at FASO...
http://faso.com/fineartviews/65645/if-you-dont-have-anything-to-saydont

And here is a link to a link Clint shared by a blogger talking about the same thing...
http://karencooperpaintings.com/blog/48536/filling-up-the-space

Both of these bloggers are blogging and writing about people who blog and write when they have nothing new or exciting or intelligent to say.  Clint does say that sharing a new work does not count as wasting your time.  

What do you think?

And why am I sharing this?  
Because I didn't have a photo to share for One Word Wednesday and didn't want to spend time on the desktop computer looking for something to share.  

Are you bored yet?

For me, I would be very sorry to see many bloggers go away.  I may not get over to your blog to read what you've shared every day (or every other day or once a week - whenever you post), and I may not have time or anything interesting to say in order to post a comment on your blog posts all the time - but if you were not part of my world, where would I discover a smile when I need it, support when I need help, a lovely piece of artwork to see from the comfort of my own chair, or the friendship I have grown from online friends?  So...keep on blogging on and don't think you have to have something earth shattering before putting your thoughts and your work out there.  (Now if we could only get out politicians to speak only when they have something important to say....!!)

TODAY IN CLASS: TEXTURE

Although I haven't painted on YUPO (a plastic "paper" that was created for the printing business) in years, I wanted my students to know what it is and what it does.  So we played on YUPO today and created some great texture.  I used a photograph taken and shared on WetCanvas by Li Newton of a great old rusty bucket.  

Here is my version - a bit too bright and needing darker values plus the handle painted.  I used a chip brush (a brush that's like a bristle brush used in oil painting) to make the striations in the wood in the background and steps.

I told the 3 students they would either love it or hate it.  I think 2 enjoyed the experience and were getting the hang of it - one even completed her painting and it looked great.  One student, however, was getting frustrated with the process and I promised I'd help her learn more about it next time.  I sent them home with their paintings, the photograph, and an 8 x 10 piece of YUPO to play with at home.

Have you ever painted on YUPO?  What did you think of it?  

TRYING THE ACRYLIC INK + WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUE

Barbara Sailor gave a demonstration last week to our local watercolor society and everyone enjoyed it.  I think several of the members are going to try this - and I wanted to try it, too.  

So - here's what I've done so far...

First, I picked a photo (I hope this one works out.  Barb usually works with photos that have a limited palette in the same family - like green hostas or pink peonies.)



Then I drew it out on tracing paper and traced my drawing onto the watercolor paper with graphite paper behind my tracing paper.  

Once the drawing was on the watercolor paper (140# cold press Fabriano), I got out the Pebeo Drawing Gum (which Barb uses, too) and drew around areas with the drawing gum using a wooden skewer.  My drawing gum was a bit gummy but since this was just a trial painting, I used it anyway.  

I made sure the drawing gum was dry before taking out the acrylic inks (using one red, one yellow, one blue and a sap green).  I put some water in the bottom of glass jars and then dropped in acrylic ink from the bottles, thinning the ink even more.  (This is how Barb does it, thinning the ink and not using it straight from the bottle.)

The next step was to take a large wash brush and wet the paper completely, going over it a few times to get it really soaking wet.  Then using the acrylic ink + water mixes, I dropped the color on in places, not really keeping within boundaries but putting the color where I wanted it, based on the photo.

After the paper is dry, I will go in with watercolor paints only and paint over the base coat and colors.  That's next - and I'll show that later...

So come back later and see if this works using this color palette.

Go over to Barb's blog to see the painting she began at the meeting and finished beautifully!!!  WOW!

BARBARA SAILOR DEMO ON ACRYLIC INK + WATERCOLOR

I knew Barbara Sailor was going to give a good presentation to the GCWS group yesterday, and I was not wrong.  People were engaged, asking a lot of questions, and Barb was great at thinking on her feet and answering those questions while still working on her painting.  Plus, we got to see a lot of Barb's paintings close up, including this First Place winner of the leaves :)

Barb began by giving us some background on the technique she demoed.  She said that, with this technique, the process takes precedence over the conception - and that it takes a lot of planning before ever putting the color on the paper.  

Working on 140# watercolor paper (she uses Arches or Fabriano), Barb had already drawn out her subject, using a grid to enlarge it from a photograph.  She had masked out all the white and lines (which help define the subject) with Pebeo Drawing Gum.  (She uses old wooden paint brushes she sharpens as the PDG applicators - or wooden styluses.  She finds anything wooden works best to get the drawing gum onto the paper and make thin lines.)

Before going into the acrylic ink colors, Barb took a wash brush and made sure her paper was very wet.  She had taped it onto a thin piece of gatorboard to hold it down and so she would tilt and tip it to let the colors run later.

Barb had 5 baby jars about 1/8" full of various colors of green acrylic ink + water premixed; she began dropping those colors on the paper, a little at a time, with a pipette/dropper.  Starting with the lightest greens, she moved to darker colors and a blue-green mix to get plenty of variety.  We could see how vibrant the color stayed and how it flowed over the wet paper.

At this point, it was time to dry the painting - which was done by her trusty side-kick and friend, Rose, who made the trip down with Barb for the program. Normally, the paint would be allowed to dry, but because of time constraints, Rose took the green painting into another room and dried it with a hairdryer.

Rather than wait for the painting to dry, Barb had another painting (a peony in pinks and violets) begun with the acrylic inks and took us to the next step of the process:  Getting out her palette of watercolor paints, she prewet an area she wanted darker and more intense, and put watercolor onto the paper - over the acrylic ink that was dry - to add more depth.  Because the acrylic ink does not lift, it made the darker color more intense and still very clean.

Then she showed us how the paint the watercolor over the dried acrylic ink on the green (hosta?) painting.  She normally will keep the drawing gum/fluid on until she paints around the edges, deepening and darkening some areas and bringing the subject out.  Here, she just added some darks and cut around shapes of the hosta with sepia over the green acrylic ink - and because of the green underneath, it looked green, not brown.

Barb says she's a slow painter; and it was obvious that she's a painter who plans her paintings carefully before ever going in with color.  I think watching her do a painting from start to finish would be a real treat sometime, though!  You know, we watercolorists are strange people - we like watching paint dry! ha ha

Barb gave us some handouts and enough information, that I think many will try this technique and I hope to see some examples at the next meeting.  I know I will try it - I just have to decide what I want to paint this way and take my time with planning.

Thanks so much, Barb!!!  Loved your program and loved getting to meet you in person!

And Barb currently has a show at the Riverside Art Center of Wapakoneta, OH with a photographer friend.  The show highlights the photos of Pamela Baker and Barb's paintings of her friend's photos.  Sounds like a great show - so if you're in the area, stop by.  The artist reception is Sunday, October 6 (2-4 pm) and the show runs through the month of October.  But if you can't visit the show, then drop by Barb's blog and see what beautiful things she's creating and sharing.

OHIO ARTIST, BARBARA SAILOR, COMING TO GCWS

Barbara Sailor is driving down from the Dayton, OH area tomorrow morning to give the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society a program and talk!  I have "known" Barb for years from various online groups we've joined, and it will be a thrill to meet her in person.  I know, from her blog and the work I have seen her do in all media, that it will be a great program.  Take a look at her blog to see some of her fantastic work!

So - if you're in the area - stop by 10-12 Wednesday at the Cincinnati Art Club, 1021 Parkside Place, (Mt. Adams) Cincinnati, OH.  Barb will be doing negative painting techniques with watercolor and fluid acrylic.  She's also agreed to do the critiques of work brought in that day - I hope people take advantage of that!

Maybe it will push me into being inspired to do something.  I am in a painting rut right now.  I'm sure it will pass but I don't feel any creative vibrations running through me right now at all.