New Stuff Going On at Creighton's Cafe
We are now off book and using Joanie's list for the experiments. We have been through Goldsworthy twice and Joanine has been recording other ideas that have come up along the way.
Next experiment: Line down center and have two sides “talk to each other". In other words, do 2 paintings on one sheet of paper, that relate to each other in some way (i.e. color, topic, shape, something)
For a list of topics, go to the blog page: Resources
Btw, the list is fluid, it will be added to, subtracted from and fiddled with for the duration.
NEW CHALLENGE:
We are going to start a Round-Robin painting experiment next Tuesday, Jun 27.
- 3 objects will be selected from the stuff we all bring to the tables on Tuesday.
- 1 artist will take the objects home and paint them
- when the artist is done, they will bring the 3 items back and hand them off to the next artist who will take them home, etc.
- the paintings will not be viewed until we stop the experiment. then we will meet somewhere to show them all off at the same time.
The objects you bring in next Tuesday should be:
- not fragile
- not a precious item that you would grieve deeply for if something happened to it
- easy to transport, think small and light
- wrapped in bubble wrap
The other rules are pretty loose at this point. The only other thing to realize is that you'll have to be there on the Tuesday that the objects are moving on to the next artist.
It's going to be really interesting to see how this works. The idea came from an article about how different artists see the same scene and interpret it so differently.
Let's have fun!
News from Mary Blake
Hello everyone,
So much has happened lately, I'm still a little stunned!
I'll keep this short, but I'm always happy to go into way too much detail, so feel free to ask if you want to hear more.
I've moved out of my studio and out of the house I lived in for 39 years. (Bart lived there 45 years.) Bart and I are now in Santa Rosa, enjoying surprisingly good restaurants, beautifully serene vistas, and a miserable heat wave. I'm still not able to focus so I'm taking a break from both painting and selling what I paint.
EXCEPT (isn't there always an exception?) that some wonderful people asked me to show my work in Tiburon before any of us knew we'd be moving. This place may have the best views in Marin. Here's the info:
Where: Community Congregational Church of Tiburon (www.ccctiburon.org)
145 Rock Hill Drive, Tiburon, CA
When: My art will be there July 1 through July 26
Reception: Sunday, July 9, noon to 2 pm
Maybe I'll see you there! I'll have 20+ pieces spanning a couple of decades of painting. Here's one of my more recent works:
-Mary
Opportunities for Artists
Inviting Entries for the 2017 General Art Show, July 14 & 15
Entry delivery and deadline for two dimensional works in watercolors, painting, and graphics is Wednesday, July 12
For more into, go to City of South San Francisco- Current Opportunities for Artists
Muni Art 2018
MuniArt will be back in 2018 - this time, it'll incorporate poetry. In partnership with San Francisco Beautiful and The Poetry Society of America, we're supporting local artists and enhancing the transit experience for San Francisco's 700,000 daily riders through our Muni Art program. 100 Muni buses were converted into rolling art galleries, reigniting a successful relationship between local art and local transit. Muni Art.
Brusho
There has been a lot of talk and play around a powdered pigment called Brusho. Here is a video about some of the things you can try out with this product:
Brusho® Landscape Painting Demo
Blick on Van Ness & Bob’s Donut Shop
Blick on Van Ness & Bob’s Donut Shop are partnering for a donut themed art show. The top 15 pieces voted on will be donated to the walls of Bob’s Donuts on Polk Street (San Francisco’s Best Donut Shop). Now accepting all submissions.
Max size 12x12”, must be donut or donut shop themed and ready to hang.
All submissions due Jun 30th. Bring artwork to Black Art Materials, 1930 Van Ness Avenue.
Thank you, Mary
Evolution of the Paint Tube
We at Winsor & Newton pride ourselves on adapting to progress and instigating change in our industry. In this series, we are highlighting items from our extensive archive to showcase our proudest innovations. First up: we review the evolution of the paint tube.
Artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir is quoted as saying that, "Without paint in tubes there would have been…nothing of what the journalists were later to call Impressionists." Winsor & Newton’s own William Winsor patented a particular iteration of the tube which significantly impacted upon artists’ use of colour.
These revolutionary artists including Claude Monet headed outside to paint ‘en plein air’ in order to ‘capture the snapshot’, thus celebrating the everyday and changing the art world forever. The portability of paint tubes was integral to such practices.
The metal paint tube was first invented by American oil painter John Goffe Rand as a way of transporting paints to use outside. The tubes were in fact syringes which were used to squeeze out paint and preserved the paint for a longer time, allowing artists increased flexibility and the possibility of a larger palette as colours took longer to perish.
Upon hearing of this stunning innovation William Winsor immediately sought the patent as Winsor & Newton were the only colourmen producing moist water colour. Once the patent was secured, William Winsor added one essential improvement to this design: the all-important screw cap. Thusly, the paint tube we know and love was born.
In the photo above, you can track the journey from the traditional bladders to the introduction of the syringe tube in 1840 to the Tube Cap introduced in 1904.
Originals and Translations
Whether the work is an abstraction or representation, analog or digital, my creative process is the same and encourages cross-pollination between all four. Although I use digital processes and printing to make limited edition 'translations' of my paintings, each piece is first completed as an original using traditional media.
Water makes inks and pigments bleed, blend, and run amok. My process encourages this irreverent behavior. First I flood water and pigment across a horizontal unprimed canvas. I add shapes and lines with paint and ink. Unpredicted and unbalanced elements appear and the painting process, a continuous realignment and re-balancing, begins. The idea is to coax line, color, and shape 'accidents' into associations that no longer appear to be accidental, and yet are removed from contrivance.
The process unfolds, layer-upon-layer, wash-upon-wash, until disparate elements reach a kind of equilibrium. The painting is finished when the shapes, and the ideas they represent, become one.
I pull the shapes from nature, observations of light, the constructs of western abstraction, and the geometry of Asian color fields and line styles. The ideas come from the wonderful nexus of science, art, joy, empathy, and the unknown.
Art in the Neighborhood
ArtSpan’s Art-in-Neighborhoods program serves the city of San Francisco by connecting communities with local artists while activating spaces with vibrant, locally-made artwork. ArtSpan partners with local businesses and building owners to bring art studios, art exhibitions, and art events to businesses, dormant storefronts, and empty spaces. Local artists who are ArtSpan members are given the opportunity to create, display, promote, and sell their artwork in these diverse venues. All aspects of the program allow otherwise unused walls, spaces, or properties to become creative arenas for celebrating local arts.
The Happy Rizzi House
This is not watercolor, but a great way to celebrate the inclusion of art in all aspects of our life.
Happy Rizzi House - Images
Happy Rizzi House - Wikipedia (you may have to translate)
Seeing It Simple
Portraying people, whether it's a portrait or a figure study, can be daunting for any artist if you are not used to it. Indeed it can be tricky, but no more than attempting a still life, landscape or animal if you don’t know what you are doing. The key is like many things in art - simplification - whether it be the features or the body itself.
Breaking the face or body down into simple blocks or shapes will make it much easier to judge proportions and give you a flying start on your drawing, before you have to consider adding colour. For example, here is a useful little chart to get you started on a basic portrait.
THE ARTTUTOR BLOG
Sinopia
Sinopia Products are now available at Arch Design Supplies
In January of 2015, Sinopia closed its retail location in San Francisco. Arch Supplies is the exclusive retailer of Sinopia Products. Visit Arch Supplies for a large array of Art Materials and find an extensive display of Sinopia Products.
Sinopia
Arch Design Supplies
10 Carolina Street @ 15th St.
Telephone: (415) 433-2724 ext. 3
Sinopia has a really interesting blog you can subscribe to: Sinopia Blog
