Jun 27

A New Page
Look above and you will see an new tab for the "Index" page. I have listed the last few months of contents so that you can find videos and other beloved posts. Don't know how much further back in history I will go, but will try to, at least, keep it up to date.

Peg's Show


The Artist's Statement
Paintings From an Artist-In-Residency
With the exhibit “In a Good Light” Peg Robinson shares her experience of an extraordinary environment in the redwood forests of Northern California, the estate and legacy of Morris Graves (1910-­‐2001). Graves, a member of a group of artists who were described as the Northwest School of Visionary Art, was well known for his early works committed to the transcendent vision of the inner-­‐eye, and in later years his flower paintings created at his California studio.
In 2014 Peg was awarded a two-­‐week artist-­‐in-­‐residency by the Morris Graves Foundation to create art in and around the home and studio of the late painter. The paintings shown here today are the work from that residency.
Influenced and inspired by Graves’ artifacts, approach and the surrounding landscape, Peg expresses her direct engagement with the animal and plant life around a 2000-­‐year old rift lake.
The subject matter in Peg’s paintings comes directly from objects found in Graves’ studio or home, or from life observed in the surrounding environment. His shells from nearby Pacific beaches, a collection of bottles and cups used in his still-­‐life flower paintings, flowers from his garden, the wildlife in around the lake, the trees of the land, and the detritus of the forest floor serve as markers of the time spent at this remarkable locale. Additional influence and inspiration came from Graves’ use of rice paper and of course the October light of Northern California.
Using watercolors as her primary medium, Peg worked “en plein aire” as well as in the studio -­‐ sometimes using a direct painting approach but also letting paintings develop over time from observation and contemplation. Rice paper became part of certain paintings and, at other times, part of the process of applying paint through stippling, stenciling and mono-­‐ printing techniques.
Morris Graves once wrote of painting “…that unutterable beauty no thing or space is free from”. Beauty is in abundance at his estate and deeply influenced Peg’s choice of subject matter and approach. She hopes that translates for you into an enjoyable glimpse into a beautifully wild and wonderful world.


Video
This is not about watercolor, it is about how different artists look at the same thing and come up with very a different painting. 
4 Artists Paint 1 Tree

Jun 20

Herakut Mural
I thought this was an interesting article. It's about the mural that we, the denizens of Flax's back parking lot, often see. I thought you might enjoy the back story: Herakut Mural

Tuesday at Creightons - Jun 16
Hi, TACers,
After we all had our drinks and treats…
38 - Compose with a Letter
SHIRLEY started us off with a bright and loose “S”.  he used her Iridori paints and her “S” had hints of dragon-ness. As it went around the table several of us found other animal forms.
MARJORIE used only one color, “Moonglow”, on yupo to make her “M” and it separated into lovely reds, blues and purples. She used a palette knife and her fingers and it had a stormy look.
AVELINA got excited and did several. My notes are a little mixed up so I hope I get this right. First she did “C” several times on the black paper from an Arches block (good recycling) to make a face. Second, “S” was all over in greens and oranges with wax and stripes. Third was “O”ooooooooooooohs, all overlapping that reminded some of us of music. Bright colors, crayon, pen and wax.
JOANIE did “O” as well but her theme was olives and additional rounded shapes, surrounded by a large calligraphic “O”.
SUE’s “S” was HOT pink with others in under layers of blue and yellow. She used watercolor crayons.
CAROLE D. asked if any of us had thought of using different alphabets which stirred a good bit of discussion about how beautiful some other alphabets are.
Lee, Pam and Joanie shared pieces from previous experiments and Pam shared about the workshop she did with Birgit O’Connor in Point Reyes.
Next week: 57 - Work with Marking Pens
If you haven’t been in a while, come!
Soon, Joanie

Alice in San Anselmo


Jun 13

Tuesday at Creightons - Jun 09
Hi, TACers,
17 - Use High Key Only
After satisfying hunger and thirst,
JOANIE started with a image of Lily of the Nile buds. Pale purples and greens were barely there.  She thought she should crop some and the group agreed.
MARJORIE did a lot of playing again.First was a blue-eyed white kitten on a watercolor postcard and we all went “awwww!”. She gently neutralized her pastel and tried white gel pen for fine whiskers and hairs which wasn’t as successful as she hoped so she finished with gouache.Her second was on a small canvas Joanie gave her. She gessoed it and then painted Joanie’s name and then gave it to her. (And it is already on my wall! Thank you!) Her third was ephemeral color on Yupo and because she was hurrying to dry it she got some interesting effects.
PAM brought a lovely framed piece of an Italian stone window that was bang on for the experiment and she said it was a breakthrough piece for her and she learned to work looser.  Her second was a tall church nave from the Czech Republic. It was all glowing goldy tans with a lace-like ceiling.  She used white gouache for highlights on the beams and columns for emphasis. There was a very tiny person to give scale.
SUE played with plastic wrap and a beautiful green blue for an oceanscape. We had fun telling her what we saw in it. She wants to add some iridescence.
SHIRLEY finished her first Muni map and now she is using the same map, this time with a small girl waiting for the bus with the grid done in blue. It was in high key but she thinks she will emphasize the girl more as she was a little lost.
AVELINA did her clay animals in pastels. Somehow she managed to make pastels colorful but she couldn’t wait to go home and make them brighter! She used her pickle fork to score the background for a cool texture. She did her Figure in Landscape on Yupo of Mother Earth giving birth to Nature. She used her fingers to paint. She was back to her richly colored palette.
JANIE didn’t do this one but she did bring back her completed waterfall for the narrow paper experiment to share and it is lovely, finished with a delicate pine branch. She plans to float it in a frame.
Next week: 38 - Compose with a Letter
Joanie

Journeling, Indoor/Outdoor and More
These 4 videos are by the same woman, Gay Kraeger, and are full of ideas and techniques. It covers drawing, painting, typography, palette choices, composition. She is fun and informative.
Watercolor Sketching & Journaling - Part 1
Watercolor Sketching & Journaling - Part 2
Watercolor Sketching & Journaling - Part 3
Watercolor Sketching & Journaling - Part 4

Jun 06

Jesse in the Bernal Blog Again
Go to the post at:
Spooky Moon Seen Behind Spooky Clouds Above Spooky Scene on Virginia
and click on her photo. It's even better enlarged. The he/she thing is getting corrected.

Ink Guide
Pam found a great resource for information about ink. Check it out.
Flax Ink Buying Guide

An Interesting Poem
Cutting Loose
Sometimes from sorrow, for no reason,
you sing. for no reason, you accept
the way of being lost, cutting loose
from all else and electing a world
where you go where you want to.

Arbitrary, a sound comes, a reminder
that a steady center is holding
all else. If you listen, that sound
will tell you where it is and you
can slide your way past trouble.

Certain twisted monsters
always bar the path - but that's when
you get going best, glad to be lost,
learning how real it is
here on earth, again and again.
William Stafford

Tuesday at Creightons - May 02
 Hi, TACers!
Small group this time. Pam is back from her travels and kit was great to see her!

39 - Combine the Figure with Landforms
JANIE thought her piece was too bad to bring but she said she used two quick draw figures. Of, course we all wanted to see it!  She finished her waterfall and will bring it next time.
PAM did a woman reclining on grass in a green velvet dress and it looked like green undulating hills.
HEATHER hid her woman in a tree trunk that made her dress, mysterious!
SHIRLEY has started a new series. She created a rich background in reds and mahogany Osmiroid ink. She scored the paper around her three figures and got a really interesting effect.  Then she is sewed the Muni electric lines map over it with gold thread. Intriguing as always!
MARJORIE had three pieces. Her first was a foreshortened figure as a mountain. She was using a printers paper so her brushstrokes were prominent, to interesting effect. She was working with atmospheric perspective but she wasn’t totally happy with it. Her second was a zoom in of the first with just the head and shoulders. It had a better sense of perspective and she  was playing with the brushstrokes. The third was a figure on a beach towel and we were going for the figure as sand and the towel as water but it didn’t seem finished so she will work on it more.
JOANIE didn’t do her homework AGAIN!!! 
  
We talked about how some of us sit to paint, some stand and some do both. Also we are still looking at good books that might be a guide when we complete Goldsmith.
Jeanne Dobie, author of “Making Color Sing”, has a new DVD out with 7 lessons.

Next week: 17 - Use High Key Only
That’s it! Joanie

P.S. I would like to suggest that we have an art supply exchange in two weeks, after we share.  Thoughts?

Reception at Center for Spiritual Life
Avelina took some photos of the show in West Portal. She and her husband, Bill, were among the worker bees that helped hang the pieces. Mary, Janie and Heather are seen with some their work and the group shot just shows us enjoying each others company.