WORKSHOP COMPLETED...FINAL SLIDE SHOW!

It has been an exciting, fun filled, action packed two weeks with the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society. Two workshops, working with many old friends and meeting many new friends. The weather decided to be rainy, blustery and challenging the whole time. Tomorrow I sleep in and then, back to the studio.

DEMO PAINTING ON A GESSO SURFACE: WORKSHOP DAY3 SLIDE SHOW!

I demonstrated how to put a texture into the gesso surface this morning.  I painted this image on the paper in the afternoon.  Everyone was working hard at finishing up their first painting after days of drawing!   Here is a slide show of the terrific results.  Notice the interesting compositions everyone came up with.

Answers to questions in yesterday's comments:  If you are interested in painting tissue paper for collage, the best information is found in the Creative Catalyst DVD by Carrie Burns Brown  "Water Media Collage Workshop".  Someone asked if I stretched my watercolor paper before painting.  Not any more! I am in too much of a hurry these days.  I flatten them out after I have finished and don't seem to have a problem.

LATEST DEMO FROM SCVWS WORKSHOP

This is the painting I created for the demonstration of an older face in full or 3/4 view.  I like to show different surfaces, so this one has tissue paper collaged onto the surface of watercolor paper with 50/50 mat medium and water.  Let it dry and then draw the image and paint with watercolor.  Oddly enough, tissue paper has a grain.  I must pay attention to that next time so I don't get horizontal wrinkles.  That only happens in real life with a bad face lift!  I think the background could use another wash to even out the color a bit.  Tomorrow everyone will complete their first painting.  I should have a nice slide show to share with you.

DEMO OF CHILD FOR WORKSHOP

Today was the last day of the first workshop I am giving for Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society.  Two days off and then I start the second workshop.  I am honored that so many people wanted to take the workshop that they provided a second session.

On the last day we work on painting children.  Less is more is my mantra for painting children.  Here is the result of my demo today.

DEMO FOR SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATERCOLOR SOCIETY

This is the painting I did today in my demonstration for the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society. This is a companion piece to the last painting I posted on the blog....the same unknown, unsuspecting model, in profile.  I worked on the background a bit but I think I want to bring it to the same level as the first painting.  I will be conducting  two back-to-back Watercolor Portrait Workshops for SCVWS starting on Friday.  It will be a busy week as I am also conducting a one day texture workshop for a private art group in Oakland, on Tuesday.  If that one is a success, I will probably set up a similar one day workshop  later in the year, open to who ever would like to attend.

The demo today was especially fun because there were so many friends in the audience.  I usually am looking out on a sea of unfamiliar faces.  I had a little more time than usual.  This was finished in 2 hours with a break in the middle.  Actual working time probably somewhere around 1 1/2 hours.  I started with a blank piece of paper and drew directly onto the paper with a blue watercolor brush pen.  Everyone stayed attentive and there were lots of good questions as I worked.  Fortunately, I am able to talk and paint at the same time (most of the time!)

 I would like to thank Mary Paquet and her wonderful team of volunteers who made everything so easy today and who make the workshops run so smoothly.  I am looking forward to the workshops.  It is wonderful to be able to share what you know and always a joy for me to see how everyone improves in their ability to create a likeness.

 There was a lot of picture taking today.  If some of you would send me some of the images, I will create a slide show of the demo for the blog.

WORKSHOP UPDATES!

I finally updated my website with the additional workshops I have scheduled for 2010. I even had a little lesson in html code writing! Nice to have an in-house expert. The January workshop with Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society is filled and now has a growing waiting list. We are discussing having a second session if there are enough people who want to take it. So, if you are interested, be sure and let them know.

Now I need to update the website again because I just agreed to be the teaching artist for a trip to Belgium in August of 2011! This is going to be such a fabulous trip! It will be a small group of 7 plus the teacher and the tour guide. The company is called French Escapades and you can learn more about the company and the trip by clicking on today's blog title. The photo is of Bruges, Belgium. Heaven!

SCVWS AWARDS CEREMONY

Today was the reception and awards ceremony for the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society's annual show. It was a gorgeous day and there was an excellent turn out of artists, family, friends and patrons of the society.

First off, the committee did an outstanding job. The show is beautifully hung, the refreshment table, festively decorated, was overflowing with delicious treats. Wine was flowing, live music was playing as everyone was greeting old friends and meeting new people. Everything ran smoothly. This organization is fortunate to have such a wealth of active and exceptionally talented volunteers.

I was excited to learn that my painting was awarded 2nd place!!! It is a very high honor. There were so many truly outstanding paintings in this year's show. A very difficult job for the juror. We were fortunate to have such a national figure in the watercolor world, Christopher Schink, take on the task. The show is up for a month, so if you are in the area, be sure and stop by. Everyone gets a chance to be a juror and select their favorite painting in the show. People's Choice will be announced after all the votes are counted. The show is at the Rose Shenson gallery on the grounds of the Triton Museum in Santa Clara.

THE GOOD NEWS JUST KEPT ON COMING!

Today was an amazing day! I was able to preview the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society Annual Show after a meeting of the participants. The show opens tomorrow and has some very spectacular paintings in it. The level of creativity and talent goes up each year. It is in the Rose Shenson Gallery on the grounds of the Triton Museum in Santa Clara. It's worth the effort to come by and see this show.

When I returned home from the meeting I found my two cartons had arrived from Minneapolis, safe and sound. I was very relieved! I had shipped quite a few paintings and lots of art supplies. I am always a little anxious until I have them securely back home.

Then I discovered a message on my answering machine telling me my painting "Put Up Your Dukes" which was in the Rocky Mountain Watercolor Society Watermedia Exhibition in Golden, CO. had SOLD! This is the most anyone has ever paid for one of my paintings. I feel very honored that someone would part with that much money to have one of my pieces. Everyone is always so complimentary about my work but I am always surprised when one actually sells. So, Wow, that was a an exciting turn of events.

Next, I received a call from SCVWS with the news I had won an award. The reception and awards ceremony isn't until Sunday, October 25th. I will have to be in suspense until then.

Tomorrow I will be doing a demo for the Society of Western Artists (SWA). They have a great new location in Redwood City on Broadway. The meeting starts at 1 PM and I will probably start about 1:30. The meeting is open to the public, so if you have the time, come on down.

SKETCHES FROM PARTY PHOTOS

This morning I decided to sit in front of my computer and do some sketches from the photos I took yesterday at the SCVWS party. I need to do this more often. I take so many photos that go languishing, never to be seen again. By sketching, I discover which images have the most potential for larger works, plus I get in all that practice with a wide variety of faces. I discovered one wonderful face that I want to work with in the future. If you think you recognize yourself in any of these drawings, you are mistaken! It's not you. Somebody else that kind of looks like you, wearing the same outfit and going to the same hairdresser. Names have been changed to protect the artist from irate friends.

I am using a Moleskin sketchbook which has pale yellow pages. If the yellow photographs too "loud", I just convert it to black and white. My old computer doesn't have the adjusting capabilities in the i-photo program that the new one does.

Yesterday was world-wide sketch crawl day. You can go to sketchcrawl.com to see some of the results and fun photos of the large groups all over the world. A great concept. There were very big groups in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park and other places. I hope to be able to participate next time I think it will be early April.

AWARD WINNERS FOR SCVWS ON DISPLAY!

Click on the blog title and you will go directly to the Winners of the Annual Show for Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society. Pay particular attention to the one called "Simple". Can you find 2 shoes and a pair of glasses?

Today was the first real rain of the winter season for the SF Bay Area. Naturally, I had to go running around in the mess. Fortunately, it wasn't really raining when I arrived in San Francisco to pick up my 2 very large paintings at the CWA Signature Member show at the Academy of Art Gallery. Then I was off to Gallery Concord because it was my turn to sit. I had Googled myself a few directions to figure out how to get onto the Bay Bridge from the AAU Gallery. A little tricky but no mishaps and I was a half hour early at the Gallery Concord.

Usually on rainy days we have little or no traffic at the Gallery but today we had a few brave souls come in. I spent most of my time drawing various shape versions of the Frenchman using tracing paper. I kept trying to simplify and find the right lines to make the statement I wanted to express about his face. Now I have lots of choices to play around with when I concentrate on the other elements. I like to draw on tracing paper or other sketch paper and then glue the results that are useful to me into a "good" sketch book. This practice takes away the fear factor of messing up. Here is the slide show of my efforts today.

Tomorrow I shall create a painting or two with my new drawings.

MIKE BAILEY'S OPEN STUDIO! WOW!

It seems my life is full of wonderful art related activities but I don't seem to be getting much painting done! Today was very inspiring, however, so tomorrow I am determined to get paint to canvas. I am doing my next Frenchman - shape painting on a canvas!

First I went at noon to deliver my painting for the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society annual show. They take the paintings directly into the Rose Shensen Gallery so it is impossible to get a look at anything. Very sneaky, these people. Friday I will get to see the show. Considering you don't have to be juried in, the quality of the show is always amazing. This group has a very talented membership.

Afterwards, my husband and I took off for Santa Cruz to attend Mike Bailey's Open Studio event. Today was the first day of a two weekend showing. Mike does such an amazing job of displaying his work plus his studio is to kill for so I thought I would take some photos and share with everyone. I start out with a photo of Mike and his adorable wife, Diana. Everyone should have such a supportive person in their life around their art. The back patio had 4 or 5 bins of matted paintings plus the fence that goes the length of the house and the tented part you can see. The dining room had screens set up with black draping and unframed small oils on the table with a few empty frames just the right size to "try out". He has built a temporary lighting frame for the ceiling. Access to the studio was from the back yard. Be sure and check out the sign above the brushes telling "the truth". I had a chance to sloooooowly browse through a new book by Nita Leland on color (Mike has 3 paintings in the book) that is so exciting, I can't wait to order it and use it in my own work and teaching.

TOMORROW I PAINT!