Aug 15

Kay at Crome 










































Tuesday at Creightons - Aug 11
Hi, TACers
We have finally completed all the exercises in Watercolor Bold and Free!!  We met at the Bernal Library to share the Four Variations on a Theme. It was fun to see all four pieces together.
We had:
Heather, with her four chairs
Carole’s San Bruno Mountain
Janie’s Mt. San Michel
Joanie’s Marin Hills
Shirley’s San Francisco scenes
Lee started but wants to take more time on this project so she shared her other favorites.
Sue is working on roads but didn’t quite finish.
Marjorie, Jeanette and Carole’s artist friend were the appreciative audience. We were very happy to see Marjorie. She looked great and is healing well!!!!

We are back at Creighton’s on Tuesday, Aug 18 at 10 am and will start our Artist Adventure!  Shirley will have a presentation on one of her favorite artists.  And, if you have anything you want to share or need our sterling advice about, COME!!!!!!

And I have a request that, after each person presents and the group shares, that person would do the weekly write-up for the blog. It can be any way you want it to be. We will talk more on Tuesday.
Until then, Joanie

Video 
Watercolor Techniques with Don Andrews
I don't know how believable, but some interesting ideas.
Creating Believable Fleshtones

Carol Duchamp
Greetings,
This is the week to enjoy some of my framed and unframed paintings at both the Mill Valley Community Center and Marin French Cheese factory including Particle Fever in Mill Valley and Softly at Cheese Factory!
Enjoy! See announcements below.
Warmly, Carol

 

Aug 08

Oh No!
For all you texture lovers:
Revamped Bubble Wrap Loses Its Pop



Watercolor Class
at San Francisco Women Artists
Watercolor Basics
Saturdays, Aug 22 & 29
9 am to 4 pm


7th Annual 50|50 Show
Mary and Juan invite you to:
Open-Door Reception, Fri Aug 28, 8–10 pm
Show runs from Aug 28 to Sep 20.

Aug 01

Documentary
Janie found this on HBO:
Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson

Tuesday at Creightons - Jul 28
Hi, TACers,
Once we settled, we shared our Four Variations on a Theme II.
SHIRLEY did her second “City” painting focusing on granular paint to create texture. She is working things out for larger paintings of these studies. She used all Daniel Smith colors.
HEATHER changed color in her second “Chair” piece, going from the natural colors in her garden to reds, pinks and purples using watercolor and watercolor crayon.
LEE worked on the old version of Penultimate on her tablet (?) and is figuring out how to translate it into a watercolor. It was her dog with a wonderful mix of line, line, colored line and more line…fun!!! She asked for ideas and, as usual, we had lots of intriguing and useful ideas.
AVELINA was looking through previous work and rediscovered her wonderful portrait of an African American farmer from California that she had done in two versions, natural and blues. She is planning to redo him for this project.
JOANIE went on a little vacation and was engaged with the Marin Hills with ochers, golds and the green-black oaks she saw along the highway coming home. She did a more natural version and then abstracted blotches for her second version.
CAROLE is still deciding what she wants to do and we all voted for Mt. San Bruno over her olive tree from Italy. She already has 3 versions of the mountain for inspiration.
JANIE was Turner inspired. She is already on her third version of Mt. San Michel in France. This one had a pale glow in dreamy colors.  When do we leave???
SUE just started on her “Road” series. She has been distracted by creating a 5’x10’ backdrop, in watercolor of eucalyptus leaves for her own wedding celebration! Best Wishes!!!!!
!!!!NOTICE!!!!
We will meet as usual at Creightons next week, Tuesday, August 4th from 10-12 but the following week we will meet at the BERNAL HEIGHTS BRANCH LIBRARY the following week, Tudsday, August 11th, for a showing of our “Four Variations on a Theme” and, if you choose, meaningful pieces from the Watercolor Bold and Free experiments that you loved, hated, had a breakthrough, learned something, it just turned out great….   
Even if you haven’t done everything, come and join us for the fun and to help us celebrate a sense of completion!
Next experiment: Four Variations on a Theme III.
Soon,
Joanie and Shirley

Kay Russell
Struts her stuff at Crome Architecture, 905 4th Street, San Rafael, CA
Opening Reception: Friday, Sep 11, 5 - 8 pm.
Show runs for about a month.

Sanchez Gallery 50/50
Mary and Juan have 50 paintings each!
7th Annual Sanchez Art Center 50|50 Show
Aug 28 - Sep 20

Jul 25

Video: Back to Basics
Choosing the Right Watercolor Paper 
And Pam sent in this: Visual Compliments

Creightons on Tuesday
Jul 14
Hi, TACers,
We are nearly at the end of “Watercolor Bold and Free”
24-Let Painted Lines Dominate was the last experiment before the 4 Variations on a Theme.
CAROL D. shared an abstract landscape with beautiful greys and blue greens. She added inks in red and “sparkle”.
HEATHER emulated Morandi with her painted lines that were drawn with a brush.  She had bottles and jugs in red and blue.  Her second was a landscape that had no pre-drawing, only painted lines.
MARJORIE is having surgery next week (July 21) at the same time we will be meeting so send her lots of good vibes!!!!!.  She shared her new little journal.  She did a piano, a tree and a landscape all done I lines with lots of bright color. She loved making shapes and contours wit only lines.
LEE did her garden in Healdsburg, twice, with lovely manzanita, their “pool” and a very pretty filigree screen.
SHIRLEY is off on a new project where she is manipulating scenes of the City on her computer in several ways and then translating into watercolor.  She has big plans for this one!
JOANIE tried scoring and scratching her poppy stems to get that dark line but it didn’t work very well.  She also was inspired by a tile she saw and copied.
And now we are doing the final four experiments.  Can you believe we are almost done???  Let’s have a great time with this one!!!
Next Tuesday: Four Variations on a Theme One
Joanie
Jul 21
No Joanie, so a short note about our work:
The first step of the Four Variations seemed to be the hardest - figuring out what you wanted to do four times.
Heather divided a large sheet (yes, it was brand new) into four quadrants and plans to do the same scene in four different ways. I'm working on sample paintings of a new graphic view of San Francisco. Did not finish one, worked on all four. Avelina painted four versions of zebras. She will have a whole new stack of work if she keeps this up. Lee and Sue (if I missed someone, I am sorry, did not take notes and it's Saturday already) worked on some very cool pieces.
Next Tuesday: Four Variations on a Theme Two
AND
We have the community room at the library form 10-12, Tues. Aug. 11th!

Jul 18

Kalligraphia XIV
The calligraphy show "Kalligraphia XIV" is on at the main library, 6th floor skylight gallery and will be on for three months, until August 22. It happens every three years. It is a great show (even though I did not do anything for it this year). There will also be calligraphy demonstrations every week on Saturday afternoons in the lower level of the library. A number of calligraphers will be teaching different techniques.
Check out the website: Friends of Calligrahy Events
Here is a link to the show's schedule: Kalligraphia XIV
Thank you, Jo

About Tuesdays
We are coming to the end of the Goldsmith experiments and the next plan is to emulate our favorite artists.
Here's how I see the scenario, but it is open to suggestions:
- One of us will pick an artist, do a little research and do a 5-10 minute synopsis of why we liked them and what we think we could learn from them.
- Everyone will bring in the paintings the next week, to show and tell the results of our experiments.
- The next person will introduce their artist, lather, rinse, repeat.
Note: I can help with the presentation follow up by sending everyone pictures and links, if you provide me the information.

What is Tuesdays at Creightons? We are a group of watercolorists that meet at a coffee shop on Diamond Heights on Tuesdays. We decide on a painting assignment and share the results every week. We also bring in other work for the group to see, we share painting news and generally have a good time. All levels of expertise are welcomed, everyone is invited, just drop in when you can.

Jul 11

Tuesday at Creightons - Jun 30
Hi, TACers,
26 Change Colors Only Slightly
SUE sailed us off with her historic clipper ship in the arctic is shades of green.  The scene was soft and muted.  She did use a bit of Chinese white and lunar black.
AVELINA sweetened us up with CHOCOLATE!  Her ice cream treats from Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk were in tones of Burnt Sienna, Indian Red, Burnt Umber with some Mar Black and gouache.  Her second piece was painted when she was sad and it was blues with a figure and it was sad.
SHIRLEY was playing with baby blocks.  Her first was in blues and the second was bright.  She is thinking another series.
HEATHER got dreamy with a sky/seascape in subtle, soft blues and lavenders.
MARJORIE did a swirly thing on yupo is reds.  She built up from light to dark and got interesting drying lines.  Then she did a print from another yupo painting and finally she did one in greens with leaf prints with resist, watercolor crayon and paint.
JOANIE was square…and rectangular with dots and blots, all in reds and a touch of gold spatter for sparkle.
JANIE flew us off to France by sharing here travel sketch book filled with lovely sketches of the places she visited.  It was delightful!
A couple of tips were shared:  for fine lines, try wax paper and a pencil.  Just lay the wax paper over your piece and draw.  Another line idea is to wet the lines first and then paint so colors shift around for more subtlties.
Next week: 42 Cool Subject, Hot Colors
That’s it!  Hope to see you next week.
Joanie and Shirley

Video - Trees
How to Paint Trees in Watercolour - Part 1
How to Paint Trees in Watercolour - Part 2
How to Paint Trees in Watercolour - Part 3


Magic Sponge
For those of you looking for
the "Mr. Clean Magic Sponge" at Daiso,
here is the Japanese equivalent,
called a "Melamine Sponge".
Thank you Joanie








CMYK Nerding Continues
This just in from Pam:
Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow Markers That Mix Together to Make Green, Blue, Red, and Black. Really.
Go to Hands on Science for more info.




San Francisco Women Artists
SFWA, founded in 1887, is an historic nonprofit membership-based organization supporting and promoting the talents of Bay Area women artists. SFWA hosts monthly juried shows, showcasing paintings, photography, ceramics, sculpture, and jewelry created by member artists. Also, SFWA collaborates with other nonprofits, offers student internships, and hosts community events. New membership applications are invited.

Their new gallery just opened to the public at 647 Irving Street.
Go to San Francisco Women Artist for more information.

Tuesday at Creightons -  Jul 07
Hi, TACers,
42 - Cool Subject, Hot Colors
SHIRLEY started us right off with a pink ice cube. It was melting because of the hot color! Besides watercolor she used a sharpie and a white gel pen.
MARJORIE went to YouTube and Birgit O’Connor for ideas and tried rainstorms, one in magenta and yellow, the other in vermillion and lime and they were very successful
HEATHER found this one difficult. She used an old painting as a base and copied the shadows in reds and browns.
JOANIE changed the blues and green of bamboo to golds, reds and browns.
AVELINA tried mesas from Sedona, which she loves, but then realized she had misread the experiment, so she tried again with the ocean in yellows oranges and brown with white added for waves. She thought it was a tranquil scene.
We were a small group so it went quickly. Avelina also shared more of the colorful figures which we all loved. Then we sat around for the rest of the time and figured “IT” out! Just great conversation…
Next week: 24 - Let Painted Lines Dominate
Come and be part of it next time!
Joanie

Jul 04

Drawing at St. Martins
Hello everybody,
The Soup Kitchen Drawing Group will meet on July 17 with MARIA and August 14 with EDNA.
As part of our restructuring, we will be collecting a $25 Annual Fee from each person and drawing sessions will be on a sliding scale of $12 - $15. This will ensure that we stay solvent when attendance dips from time to time. Model fees are currently $80/session but will be increased to $85 soon.

I look forward to your interest and participation to help maintain this group and keep it going. Thank you, Larry and Mim

Martin de Porres House of Hospitality
225 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103
415-552-0240
info@martindeporres.org
http://martindeporres.org/ 


Tuesday at Creightons - Jun 23
Hi, TACers,
As we settled in for our session with coffee and treats we were sharing books and discussing what we would do when we complete the Goldsmith book.  At the moment Painting in the style of a favorite artist, chosen by a different one of us each week, has had the most energy.  If you have suggestions please let us know ASAP!

57 Work with Marking Pens
JOANIE started with two pieces that she painted with a kid watercolor palette that had no true colors.  The paints were chalky but she added bold marker lines and they turned out to be a little whimsical.
AVELINA used all marker and created a very lively rooster with a great tail and then painted on small pieces of a Chinese paper that had a dry brush effect. They were fast, free and fun!
LEE did a long, narrow paper of a palm tree in watercolor with the palm fronds with marker.  It was delicate.
CAROL D. did a rock that looked like a dog.  She included razor point pen and gel pen.  It really did look like a dog and Shirley named him “Shep”.
SUE did a very energetic water/landscape with washes first and then she added pen work.  It looked like the water was gushing.
SHIRLEY did lots of swirls with varied line, shape and color.  There were her favorite dots, too.
MARJORIE also did a rooster.  She started with watercolor underneath and added pen.  That rooster was IN CHARGE!
HEATHER recreated an old watercolor with watercolor crayon to interesting effect.  She didn’t have markers so she improvised and she left it dry.

Next week: 26 Change Colors Only Slightly
Hope to see you Tuesday!
Joanie


Heather and Sue Show Photos
Including a stealth visitor
 
Heather with her pieces at Goat Hill Pizza

Avelina and Sue with Sue's pieces
Evelyne took a selfie for proof of her visit to the show. I miss you, already.

Video
The Great Masters - The English Masters - Turner
All you ever wanted to know about Turner, and More!