International Association of Pastel Societies Juried Show

On Friday before leaving for a two week vacation in Hawaii I received a very exciting e-mail. For the first time as an artist I had submitted an entry to a national level pastel show.....the International Association of Pastel Societies juried show to be hosted by the City of Brea Gallery in Brea, CA. The e-mail I received on Friday was congratulating me for being juried into the show!!! I was very excited.....to say the very least! The piece I entered was "Late Night Snack"....the second piece I painted for the Art Challenge using the glass goblet. Just goes to show you....stretching yourself to paint something you would not have chosen to paint on your own has definite benefits!! I cannot include a picture here of the piece as I do not have my computer with me with the photos of my art work.....but you can see it in the blog entry "Art Challenge Part Two" posted on October 30th.

Young Bulls

This is the painting that I started working on the first weekend of Hidden in the Hills. The expectation is that artists are working even if they are not in their own studios during the open studio tour. I sold this painting (half finished) to a gentleman that came through that weekend. After all the hubbub of the second weekend of Hidden in the Hills, hosting the holiday get together of the Arizona Pastel Artists Association in my home, and getting ready for a holiday vacation in Hawaii I finally finished the piece. I was very pleased with the results! Aren't they a curious bunch?

Hidden in the Hills - Year One is in the Books

Hidden in the Hills is over! My first experience with this open studio tour and art sale was very positive although it ended with a bang! Sunday was the last day with 5:00 being the close of the tour. Around 4:15 the sky began to darken.....by 4:30 it was black! We got hit by a storm with wind and rain that had us scuttling to protect the goods. Needless to say we broke down early. It was interesting loading my paintings into the cars without them getting wet......but we managed! My husband was a real trooper....even though he was freezing as he rushed over to help me while still in shorts. The temperature dropped dramatically and with the wind...it was certainly chilly!

Everyone who has participated in HITH has expressed that their first year is the slowest. With that in mind along with our current economic condition I was looking for exposure and to sell some of my note cards I had created showcasing my art. Well....I exceeded my expectations. I did sell a lot of cards. Some people even bought them planning to make a collage or series of small framed pieces as they could not afford the paintings themselves. But......I also sold a painting! It was actually a painting that I was working on during the tour as a "working artist" of a group of young bulls looking curiously at the photographer. The gentleman who bought the painting (brave man as it was only about a third done!) is a jeweler who designs jewelry. He ended up calling me after the first weekend and asking if I wanted to display some of my work in his jewelry store. Needless to say I was tickled pink! I was also approached by a woman interested in having me do painting of her horses.....a possible commission! This last weekend I was approached by a woman representing the Thunderbird Artist Expo. This is a ten week long event held annually in a large tent with over 150 artists working and displaying their art. I was encouraged to consider participating in this juried event.

So.....HITH was a definite success for me....both financially and moving me forward in getting my art exposed! Can't wait for next year!

Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour and Art Sale

Well....my first weekend of the Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour and Art Sale is under my belt! Whew! The weeks of preparation are done.....painting, framing, making note cards, ordering postcards and business cards, buying a banner, buying propanels and hanging hardware...............and so on! And it all came together beautifully! Mother Nature even helped out with beautiful weather....even for the Valley of the Sun which is famous for beautiful weather! Since this is my first venture of this sort (along with the state of the economy) I was hoping to sell a few cards and get exposure as an emerging artist in an area crawling with professional artists. If I sold a painting it would be frosting on the cake. Well....I got the frosting! Over this first weekend of the two weekend event I sold many note cards, met many people interested in my art and how I do it, sold a painting, and got a commission! I am thrilled! All the effort and hard work was worth it. I can't wait till next weekend!

Here is a link to a video of my booth setup. I got many compliments on my setup which was very gratifying. I was set up on the back patio of the host studio of Lori Greenberg. The entrance to her studio where she makes glass beads is off this back patio. Next to me on the patio is a fine art photographer, Sal La Rocca who does beautiful work and is great fun to talk with whenever we had a lull. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBLCFNsz6H8

Fall Colors

After spending the weekend framing or reframing pieces in preparation for Hidden in the Hills which is just around the corner, I was able to get back to painting. Yesterday I completed a small 5" x 7" inch piece that I have redone twice titled "Fall Grapes". I like it OK now...but it still does not make my heart sing. It has a signature....but may find itself back on my easel before getting framed.

Today I finished a piece that I started during the Clark Mitchell workshop in Sedona a couple of weeks ago. This was painted along Oak Creek at the Crescent Moon Park. The location I painted is a few hundred yards down from Red Rock Crossing which provides the classic view of Cathedral Rock seen on all the postcards of Sedona. I loved the changing colors of the trees along with the small rapids in the creek as it flows around and over the rocks in the creek. It was a beautiful sunny day and I can still hear the creek and feel the sun as I look at the painting. I titled it "Oak Creek at Red Rock Crossing". It is signed and ready to be framed for Hidden in the Hills.

Jerome Hood Ornament

One of the paintings I am working to finish from my recent weeklong workshop in Sedona with Clark Mitchell is a piece from Jerome, AZ. Jerome is an old mining town on the side of a mountain that has been experiencing a rebirth as an art destination. The buildings are very historic.....it is like stepping back in time and the people who live there work to keep it that way. I was taken by a car parked on the street that just seemed to exemplify Jerome. It was an old white car covered with a blue tarp held on by big clamps. But of most interest to me was the huge horned cattle skull wired to the hood. Although the full painting which includes some of the buildings the car is parked near is as yet unfinished, I cropped just the hood of the car to create a 5" x 7" painting to enter into the Sonoran Arts League's Small Works Show. I named it "Jerome Hood Ornament". It even made me smile as I painted it.....so very typical of what you see in Jerome!!

"Sunflowers" wins Honorable Mention!

Last night was the Arizona Pastel Artists Association reception for the Fall Juried Art Show held at the Sundust Gallery in Mesa, Arizona. I was very pleased to discover as I read and presented the award winners that my piece, "Sunflowers" won an Honorable Mention". Our group has many very talented artists, both professional artists and part time pastel enthusiasts......so to win recognition among such a group is truly an honor!

Artist of the Month!

Each month at the Arizona Pastel Artist Association meetings we have a competition for Artist of the Month. Members are invited to bring in pieces fully framed and show ready. The pieces are numbered and the members vote for the painting they feel is the best of the group. The votes are counted and a first and second place are awarded. The monthly winners bring their paintings back in June and the vote selects the Artist of the Year. Today I won first place for the month!!! I was tickled pink to say the least! The piece was "Greens and Purples" above.

Art Challenge Part 2

In a previous blog I shared the piece ("Greens and Purples") that I painted for the first AZ Pastel Association Art Challenge. I was so pleased with the results that I entered the piece into our fall juried show. (All three of the pieces I entered were juried into the show! The other two were "Sunflowers" and "Bulldog Cliffs"). I was somehow thinking I would have to take the painting to the show site prior to the November meeting where the art challenge paintings were to be critiqued/discussed. As such, I thought I had to do another piece for the challenge.....which I did. It wasn't until I had the painting started that I realized I did not have to do a second one as our meeting is the Sunday before the Wednesday we hang the show. However, I am very glad I did. I had fun with this one. I set it up at night in my dark studio with just one light placed low on the left of the setting. It provided great highlights on the glass goblet and the other items I grabbed from the kitchen. Hope you enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed the process!

Hidden in the Hills Open Studio Tour

This November I am participating in the Hidden in the Hills open studio tour for the first time. This studio tour is very well established and well respected. It draws thousands of people from across the valley and Arizona in general. The tour is composed of 46 studio spread across Cave Creek, Carefree, and North Scottsdale. Each of the studios hosts up to 5 additional artists. The event covers the last two weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) of November. I will be in Studio 27. Here are some links you may want to check out:
Web site: www.hiddeninthehills.org
Blog: http://hiddeninthehills.blogspot.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://artist.to/hiddeninthehills/
The directory: http://bit.ly/3IKXW7

Hope you are able to come and enjoy all the art!

Building the Inventory for Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour

I am continuing to work on finishing plein air pieces that just needed a little more work. Because I unexpectantly had the opportunity to be represented by the Menagerie Boutique, a large chunk of my inventory for the upcoming Hidden in the Hills open studio tour is now hanging at the gallery. This is actually a great opportunity to put a little fire under my feet to complete a number of paintings that have been awaiting my attention. Here are two pieces that I have completed the last few days. The painting on the left is another piece from Lake Pleasant entitled Lake Pleasant Cliffs. The slant of the cliffs and the shoreline reflections caught my eye. It was a day with scuddling clouds which is unusual for this area. The painting on the right is the location where the mustangs or open range stock wandered into the area while we were out painting (see blog on visitors on location for a picture of the foal). I was intrigued by the path leading to an expansive area composed of the McDowell Indian reservation and the mountains around Bulldog Canyon in the far distance. I called it Mustang Trail in honor of the visitors that day.

Menagerie Boutique is open!

We're open! The Menagerie Boutique (see previous blog) that is representing my work is now open. The grand opening was Saturday, October 17th. Bob and I went to visit today and see what things looked like once everything was set up. Very impressive.....and very exciting for me! I share the owner, Cindy Keogh's great expectations for the future of the alternative gallery. Here are a couple of photos that include some of my work. Please plan to visit. It is located at 14150 McDowell Rd. in Goodyear, AZ. Lot's of goodies to buy....and Christmas is just around the corner!!

Rio Verde

Yesterday I finished the final touches on this plein piece in my studio. This is a view of the shorline of the Rio Verde at the Needle Rock Recreation Area in the Tonto National Forest. I really liked the way the sun was hitting the topline of the overhang on the opposite shore highlighting the trees and shrubs against the deeply shadowed overhang. I was also attracted by the reflections in the swiftly moving water. It was one of those beautiful fall days in Arizona that just make you think of nothing but the joy of being alive and surrounded by nature's beauty. I could have painted all day......but the growing intensity of hunger pangs made lunch climb to the number one priority. Oh well.....lots more of these days to come....which is why I love living here!

Menagerie Boutique

I recently became a participating artist at the Menagerie Boutique. The Menagerie Boutique is what I would call an alternative gallery brand new to the Phoenix area. It is located in Goodyear, which is the SW part of the valley, at McDowell and Lichfield Rd. The grand opening is October 17th. The owner is Cindy Keogh and she is approaching the sale of art in a unique and imaginative way. Cindy has two rooms connected by a hallway which will include hung art. Each of the two rooms has walls painted different colors. She has brought in a collection of eclectic pieces of furniture, some antiques, most from her home. She plans to set up vignettes with the furniture to showcase the art as one would possibly see it in their homes. I think this unique approach will appeal to customers and decided this was a venue I wanted to try as an artist. The gallery website is currently under construction, but should be active soon. (http://www.menagerieboutique.com/). Please check out this new gallery and my work there. I would love to hear what you think!

Art Challenge

The Arizona pastel Artist Association has initiated a new event this year in the form of an "Art Challenge". There are three cycles of the Art Challenge during the year. For each cycle up to 10 artists can sign up to participate. The participants are given an object or set of objects. All participants receive the exact same object(s). Each artist then has two months to create a painting that incorporates the object(s). After two months the participants bring their finished pieces in to the meeting where a discussion is held that examines the resulting paintings in terms of composition, color choices, concepts, etc. It is a learning and fun activity for both participating and non-participating members. I decided to participate in the first cycle. Our object was a glass goblet that was tinted green. This worked fine for me because I have been really enjoying painting with the colors of green and purple of late (artichokes, eggplants, etc.). After a shopping trip to AJ's grocery store, I composed and painted the painting above. My problem is that I am so happy with the results that I decided to enter it into our fall juried show. If it gets juried into the show it will not be available for the discussion at the November meeting......which means I would have to do another composition using the glass. I will have to start thinking of other compositions.....just in case!!!

Bulldog Cliffs

This is a piece I did plein air out in Bulldog Canyon in the Tonto National Forest 2 weeks ago. It just needed some finishing touches in the studio which I did this morning. Bulldog is one of my favorite places to paint. It is very much still as nature intended. You need a pass to access the area which only has a couple of 4-wheel drive roads through it. The entrances have gates with padlock codes which are given to you 6 months at a time. There is a herd of mustangs that travel this area that we have seen twice. This canyon borders the Salt River which attracts wild life. Hope you enjoy this piece as much as I did doing it.

Sunflowers

Finally finished! This was a tough piece for me. The sunflowers themselves were a gift from good friends as part of a larger bouquet of flowers. The sunflowers were so eyecatching I just knew I had to paint them. I isolated the sunflowers and the deep purple flowers that so wonderfully accented the sunflowers into a vase to take pictures. I was happy with the resulting photo and even happier with the watercolor underpainting as I shared with you in an earlier blog entry. I was actually worried about ruining such a great foundation for a pastel painting. Maybe it was that fear that set me up mentally. I like the finished piece....but it was a painful process. I painted and left it for days...painted again with new ideas and left it for days....this continued more than a few times. Some pieces just flow from the pastels with no effort.....and other pieces fight you all along the way! As long as I am happy in the end I guess I can't complain too much about those that are a struggle. I hope you like the results!!

Small Works Continued

Surprisingly I find myself having a lot of fun with the small works approach. I was so pleased with the "Artichoke" piece that I decided to try another vegetable that also uses purples and greens....an eggplant (besides....I love eggplant). I used the remaining half of the UArt 500 grit paper sample I received at the IAPS Convention in May which is 5" x 7". I went to the Wet Canvas Reference Photo section and found a photo of eggplants that met my needs. Small works are so much fun because they are not long term projects. I completed "Eggplant" in about 3 hours with a little more tweaking the next morning after "sleeping on it". I have some samples of UArt paper of different grits.......I may just have to try some more vegetables!!!

Small Works

I work almost exclusively on 9 x 12 paper as I do so much plein air painting. The 9 x 12 size is easy to transport in my backpack or tote bag. I have been planning to do some pieces in a larger format to add variety to my work as I prepare for the Hidden in The Hills Studio Tour I am participating in this fall. However, I have been noticing more and more art shows for small works. I found myself intrigued about doing a smaller piece. This was fueled by the fact that I had received a free promotional pack of the new Uart paper at the International Association of Pastel Societies Biennial Convention. The pack included four sheets of the paper in various grit sized 7" x 11"......so I had the paper. Now the topic. It didn't take long to decide what to paint......I have had a hankering to paint an artichoke since last winter when I took a class where one of the other artists in the class painted a beautiful artichoke. I had purchased an artichoke and taken photos....but planned on a large painting. Now I decided to paint it in a small format......7" x 6". I sketched the piece and created the watercolor underpainting yesterday. This afternoon I completed the painting in pastel. Here's the results....."Artichoke".

California Dreaming

I have just gotten home from a driving trip to California with my husband. We were gone two and a half weeks. During that time we visited with our sons and their families, but we also spent quality time in three of our beautiful National Parks, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite. I collected enough inspiration and photos to keep me painting for a long time!! I must admit that I found some of the scenary too awesome to try to capture in a painting. Mother Nature has much more skill than I could ever hope to have!! I do have some photos that I plan to work from, but they may not see the light of day!!!

We spent a week of the trip at a condo on Bass Lake in California just south of Yosemite National Park. The lake is truly beautiful. It is at about 3400 ft. above sea level with beautiful conifer forest surrounding it. I did a couple of paintings during the week. I think I am finished with this one which I titled "Bass Lake Shoreline I". Here is the photo of the scene, my thumbnails, my sketch and the painting. I have put my name on it....but may still do some tweaks after I look at it for awhile.

Company on Location

Despite the heat wave Arizona is experiencing (daily temps from 112 to 116) I went out painting early this morning. The location was a new one for me out in the desert. The morning was actually a little overcast which gave great misty color to the mountains in the background. As I was painting, I thought I heard the sound of hoofbeats and looked up to see I was being observed from a nearby hill by a band of three horses.....a mare, a yearling, and a foal. I am not sure if they were mustangs or range stock belonging to someone because they were not as timid as most mustangs I see while out painting. They went on their way out of sight and I resumed painting. Not 20 minutes later they reappeared walking towards me in the actual scene I was painting. They continued to amble along grazing and came within 50 feet of me. Needless to say I stopped painting to take pictures. The foal even stopped to check me out for several minutes before continuing to follow his mother. They finally moved to a tree not too far from my location and gathered in the shade to relax. I went back to my painting with a smile on my face knowing they were back there in the shade critiquing my work. Made for a fun painting day!!

Trip to France Art Work

As promised I have taken photos of the four pieces that I completed while at the Richard McKinley workshop in France so that I could share them with you.

This piece titled "Roman Gate" was completed on our first day of painting after arrival. The location is Castelfranc which was a walled town during the Roman Empire. There are components of the wall and this gate still standing. I really liked the arch of the gate and the different colors in the stone. I was also intrigued by the light coming through the gate and slanting across the grassy area in front of it.

This second piece is titled "Wine Cellar Niche". This location is at Haut Baran where we stayed. I stood on the flagstone steps down to the pool to view the side of the wine cellar building which had this niche filled with flowers. The hydrangea were so beautiful! I fell in love with this scene as soon as I saw it. The door to the left is the entrance to one of the guest rooms in the main building. As you can see the landscaping at Haut Baran is breathtaking!

The third piece is "Theron Vineyard Lavender". Theron Vineyard is an absolutely beautiful vineyard located on top of a gently rising hill. Above the lavender is a castle. I first began the piece with the castle included. However, I realized the castle became the focus when included and I really wanted to paint the lavender. I changed gears and started all over with new thumbnail sketches that focused on the lavender field. The color of the lavender was a real challenge to capture....not really lavender and not really blue. Loved it!!

The fourth piece I completed during the workshop is titled "Belaye Overlook". Belaye is a tiny town at the top of a hill overlooking the Lot Valley with the Lot River snaking it's way through beautiful farmland. What intrigued me about this scene were the shadows slanting across the river and farmland as the afternoon progressed. I was also caught by the shapes of the farmland as the different fields accommodated the curve of the river.

I will be working on the remaining pieces begun in France in the next few weeks. I am hoping to finish them before my husband and I leave on a driving trip to California the end of July. In any event I will share them as I complete them. In the meantime I would be interested in any feedback or comments you might wish to share about the four presented here!

Trip to France

I have just returned from a 12 day trip to France. I was in France to participate in an art workshop with Richard McKinley, whom I have been working with for over a year whenever possible. The workshop was held at Haut Baran, a privately owned French chateau in the Lot Valley, two hours outside of Toulouse (photo above). The owners, William and Rosalie Haas are Americans, although William's family is from France and he spent his summers there from a very early age. They purchased the chateau and converted it into a location for retreats for groups. They specialize in art groups and gourmet cooking groups. The location is stunning, the hospitality is superb, and the food served is truly an experience itself!

Richard is a gifted artist and teacher and strives to provide a rewarding learning experience for each participant. Because of this it is very difficult to get into one of his workshops as they fill immediately and always have wait lists. However, the economy had an impact on this workshop resulting in only 8 artists. This small group meant lots of one on one time for each artist with Richard. We started each morning with breakfast at 8 or 8:30 and worked until dinner which was usually around 7:30 or 8:00 pm. We painted at the Haut Baran itself as well as at various towns and small villages within 15 minutes drive. We also took advantage of opportunities to experience the French culture by visiting a historical watermill, a village street market, and walks through the small villages. We also had the wonderful opportunity to visit Peche Merle to tour the caves containing prehistoric art. Truly inspiring!

In upcoming blog entries I will share some of the artwork I created during the workshop. As always, workshop settings are for learning and trying new things....which means that the pieces often are not completed during the workshop. I need to photograph the completed pieces and work to complete the unfinished pieces in the days to come. First, though.......I need to recover from the jet lag.....the nine hour time difference and long flights definitely take some recovery time! Needless to say....it was definitely worth it!

2009 Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival

For the second year in a row I was juried into the Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival. The piece juried in is "Boot Scootin' Wannabes". The juried entries will be exhibited at the Desert Foothills Library in Cave Creek from June 19th through the end of July. Although there will be a reception on July 10th from 6 to 8 pm, the actual awards will be announced on July 19th at the Film and Arts Festival awards ceremony (for all divisions) from 6 to 0 pm at the Fine Arts Center at Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek. If you happen to be in the area on either date please stop in and join the festivities!

IAPS Video

Last weekend I attended the International Association of Pastel Societies Eighth Biennial Convention in Albuquerque, NM. I took along a new toy.....a Flip Video Camcorder. I took a few video clips which I put together into a movie called "Scenes from IAPS 2009 and posted it on You Tube. I thought you might enjoy it:

IAPS Biennial Convention 2009

I just returned from a wonderful weekend in Albuquerque attending the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) Biennial Convention. Bob and I flew to Albuquerque Thursday morning arriving at 11:30 in the morning. This allowed us to get to the convention hotel in time for me to attend the first session of the conference. This convention draws people from all over the world, although the majority are from the United States. Yet, the convention is just small enough that you get to meet people easily at sessions and other convention activities. You also have the opportunity to attend sessions to learn from a large number of the artists one reads about in the art journals. I was able to attend sessions with Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Michael Chesley Johnson, Richard McKinley, Sean Dye, and Kim Lordier. I learned a lot!!! Some of the things I learned were new to me, but then some of the things I have heard or seen before......but they really jelled for me hearing them this last weekend. One of the concepts that really jelled for me was the fact that the artist is painting a concept....not specifically a scene. All the tools and techniques I have been learning are to be used to design a painting to communicate the concept that drew me to the painting to begin with. An artist is not a camera....faithfully recording a scene. An artist "designs" a painting, modifying and interpreting the scene to share the reason the scene first attracted them. I knew this...but never connected all the ramifications of "knowing this". After this last weekend I think I am going to be approaching my painting in a whole different way!!!

Lake Pleasant Shoreline

As promised, I am sharing the finished painting, "Lake Pleasant Shoreline" You will note that I changed the name from "Lake Pleasant Cliffs". I am pleased with the finished piece. I worked quite awhile to get the reflections to look right. The reflections have movement from side to side...but there are also reflections that move from top to bottom. I would love to get to a point where I could complete a painting while still on site. This finished product reflects about three additional hours of actual work and several hours of thinking and reflecting on each step.

Let me know what you think of the piece.....I would love to read your comments!

Productive Day

Today I was able to spend a good part of the day in my studio. As a result I found that I accomplished a lot!

First of all I finished another work in my shoes series. This painting is a take off on the "Party Flats" piece. The shoes which are the subject of both pieces are actually black with a black patent toe and heel. In "Party Flats" I chose to use vibrant colors for the shoes as opposed to the native color of black. This time I went back to the shoes' true colors and added a gold necklace. Here you see the result...."Black Patent Flats".

The second accomplishment was the underpainting for a piece I am going to call "Sunflowers". My good friends Barb and Charlie brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers upon my return home from my surgery. In the bouquet were three beautiful sunflowers. I decided they had to be painted. So I pulled them out along with some vibrant purple flowers and began taking pictures out in the sun on the patio. Today I selected the composition I wanted to paint, created the drawing and painted the watercolor underpainting. I really like the results.....hope I don't mess it up when I start with the pastels!!!

Finally.....I had some time to work some on the painting I started Wednesday plein air painting in the Castle Hot Springs area. I ended up brushing off some of the work I had done on site and began reworking some of the areas. It is a rough half done piece here.....but I think it has potential!

Yes....a good day in the studio while the clouds roil around outside and light rain continues to show up every now and then.

On The Road Again!!

Yesterday was a great day!!! It wasn't particularly sunny...but it was a fabulous day because I was back with my friends plein air painting. I have been out of the loop for a few weeks due to health issues which resulted in surgery. I was doing some painting....but hadn't been able to be out plein air painting. Well....today was my first day back and it was so great!! We had a rare cloudy day in Arizona so the contrasts were minimal.......but I really didn't even care!!! Here is a picture of the group getting setup on an overlook of Lake Pleasant in the Castle Hot Springs area in the north valley. Phil is standing next to his jeep and painting setup. My jeep is behind his. Bud is in the chair on the right getting setup. You can just see my setup in the lower left. I got a good start on a painting that I hope to finish today and will shortly share with you.

Did I mention that I love being outside painting????

Notan

As noted in a previous post, I participated in a plein air workshop with Richard McKinley in Tucson in March of this year. During the workshop Richard brought up a term that was new to me....notan. During his instruction Richard encouraged participants to create thumbnail sketches using notan prior to painting a piece. The sketches were 3 value sketches. To me it seemed that notan sketches were the same thing as value sketches....but I was assured by Richard that they were not really the same thing. He also recommended that we read a book by Arthur
Wesley Dow titled "Composition: Line, Notan and Color" from Dover Publications. I just finished reading the book.....and I think I have a better understanding of notan. Notan is a Japanese term for dark and light. My understanding after reading the book is that notan is the broad concept of light and dark, while values are a further refinement. This makes sense to me....but I want to further discuss notan and how artists use notan to help me confirm or disprove this understanding. I will be seeing Richard at the International Association of Pastel Societies Convention (IAPS) in Albuquerque next week and plan to bounce my understanding off of him. I am also attending sessions with CA pastel artist Kim Fancher Lordier. Kim refers to notan in regards to her work. I hope to learn more in her sessions.

If anyone has a different understanding or a clarification of notan I would love to hear from you!! I will let you know what I learn at IAPS!

Arizona Pastel Art Association

I have been involved with the Arizona Pastel Art Association (APAA) for about 6 years. However, until the summer of 2007 my involvement was minimal due to my job as the national director for professional development for an educational software company which involved extensive national travel. As I moved towards retirement in the summer of 2007 my travel commitments greatly decreased and I was able to become more involved. This involvement consisted being able to attend meetings and events at first, but quickly moved to my volunteering to take on the role of newsletter editor. This position involves a strong time commitment....but also puts one in a position of getting to know members and the workings of the organization. I very much enjoyed serving in the role of newsletter editor for the last couple of years. However, with this year's elections, the sitting president expressed a wish to step down after serving for two years. I was asked to consider the presidency which I was happy to agree to....and subsequently was elected by the membership. APAA is very much a growing organization and I am deeply honored and excited to serve in a leadership role. I would like to invite you to visit the APAA website at www.azpaa.com. You also may find yourself wishing to become a part of such a vibrant organization!!

A Big Decision

Yesterday marked another step forward for me as an artist. I decided to participate in the Sonoran Art League's Hidden in the Hills (HITH) open studio tour in November. I have been a member of the Sonoran Art League for a number of years, but have not felt ready to participate in HITH. HITH is the biggest event that the Sonoran Art League puts on each year. It takes place the last two weekends in November. Member artists open their studios to the public during the two weekends. The studios are all within a 40 square mile radius around Carefree, Cave Creek and North Scottsdale. Each studio artist hosts up to four additional artists in tents, garages, patios, etc. The event is highly publicized and draws hundreds of people each year. It is a much anticipated event in the area. The full color directory that is published each year becomes a resource for buyers even after the event.

My decision was finalized yesterday at the Match Up Breakfast sponsored by the league. This is an opportunity for studios looking for additional guest artists and guest artists looking for a host studio to find each other. Studios are typically looking for a range of art genre as one would not want the artists at one site to all be producing the same kind of art and be competing against each other. I went to the breakfast thinking that if I found a good match it was meant to be the year for me to jump in. If I did not find a match it would also be a sign! Well....I found a great match! I will be at the studio of Lori Greenberg. Lori is a glass bead artist. I will be sharing the back patio with a fine art photographer, Sal DeRocco. We will also have a fourth artist, a good friend of mine, June Lerman, who does watercolors. June will be located on the front patio.

I am excited and already thinking about what my inventory should focus on and the setup of my part of the back patio. I have a lot of work to do....but can't wait!!! Check out the Sonoran Art League website http://www.sonoranartsleague.org/. There is information about last year's HITH as well as the upcoming 2009 HITH I will be participating in.

Scottsdale Home and Garden Expo Center

A new opportunity for artists has arrived in Scottsdale in the form of the Scottsdale Home and Garden Expo Center. The Scottsdale site is actually one of four expo centers in the Phoenix area. The four centers are permanent facilities that are open 7 days a week all year long. The difference in their expo format is that the booths are unmanned. This allows shoppers to explore and compare products at their leisure without pressure from sales staff. They can collect information on products of interest and contact the vendors to pursue their interest. Vendors pay rent for the booths.....however...artists do not. Artists put down a damage deposit which is fully refundable based on the condition of the booth when they leave. I chose to take advantage of this opportunity and see what happens. My booth was already painted a neutral color so I left it as is thinking of the many galleries that paint their walls such neutral colors. I put up paintings, put in an area rug, set up a small side table with a basket for business cards, positioned a silk plant.....stood back and took a look. I liked it...but decided the booth needs to be repainted in the near future. My paintings kind of blend in too much. A bolder, darker color will help to make them pop out to the viewer. Now.....we wait to see what happens. My concern is whether a buyer will be willing to contact the artist and come back to meet the artist at another time to be able to make the purchase. Regardless....my work is getting exposure and that is a good thing!! If you are in the area stop in and check it out.

"Cortona Window" wins Third Place

I decided to enter the Peoria Celebration of Artists juried show this year. The first step is to send up to two digital images for jurying into the show. I entered two pieces, "Cortona Window" and "Golden Barrel Cactus". Both pieces were juried into the show which is housed in the Peoria, AZ City Hall. I was pleased to attend the reception to find that "Cortona Window" had placed third in the Drawing/Pastel Division. The judges were Bob and Louise McCall. Bob McCall creates art for NASA and has the largest painting in the Smithsonian. Louise is also a well known artist. Earning an award by such quality of judges makes the award all the sweeter!!

Richard McKinley Workshop

The week of March 8th I participated in a weeklong workshop in Tucson, AZ with Richard McKinley. Richard is the instructor that I worked with in Italy last year and will be working with again in France the end of June. This workshop was for artists who have previously worked with Richard and was designed for each artist to move to their next level. Several of the participants had also taken part in the workshop in Italy including my roommate for the Tucson workshop, Barb. This made for great fun for the group as well as being able to learn from each other. We painted in several beautiful sites in Tucson including Sabino Canyon shown here with my easel. I was very gratified that Richard recognized my growth as an artist since the workshop in Italy last May. I have moved forward in recognizing and painting three to four main value masses. Richard worked with me to further define the values within each major value mass. He also demonstrated the next step which would include adding stokes that add the drama to a painting. It was a truly successful workshop.

Boot Scootin' Wannabes

I have been experiencing some health problems that have kept me from being able to go out plein air painting. This has put me into a state of "withdrawal" from being out in Mother Nature with my painting friends painting. In the meantime I have been taking a class with a friend and very talented artist on finding your visual voice. Liz encouraged the class to use the class to engage in painting a series. I had been wanting to paint a pair of cowboy oot mules I own and decided to initate a "shoe" series.

A lot of artists experience problems plein air painting in narrowing down a scene and developing a strong composition. I have not found that to be a problem. However....as I began to set up a still life with my shoes I found myself definitely struggling to develop an interesting and strong composition. After many changes and adjustments I finally settled on a setup using the shoes, a pair of jeans and a red suede jacket.

It was great fun painting this setup. I really enjoyed doing the jeans and the suede jacket. I also really enjoyed being very impressionistic on the shoes themselves. I was happy with the results....but as always I wanted to spend some time looking at the piece and deciding if any changes were needed. I also took the piece to class to get some feedback from my fellow classmates.

As a result of my own contemplation and chewing on feedback from classmates, I decided that the blue jeans needed some darkening to push them back so the shoes dominate. That helped a lot......but further review brought me to the decision to crop the top of the piece about an inch.

I am very happy with the final result. Now on to the next shoe setup!!

Painting on Vacation Trips

Bob and I recently took a four day trip to Las Vegas to take in a couple of shows. Las Vegas is about a four hour drive through some beautiful desert and a crossing of the Hoover Dam. Since moving to Scottsdale we have made occasional trips to Vegas for a get-away. Although we had tickets to see both Jersey Boys and Ka, it was also our intent to drive out of Vegas proper and check out Red Rock Canyon and other sights in the area. As such, I took my camera, sketchbook and a few pastels. Well....we did drive out to Red Rock Canyon.....and I did take some great photos....but I did not stop, set up my easel and paint. Why? Well, we ended up with much less time for exploring than we had hoped. This happens often when we travel. It is not that Bob isn't willing to pull out a lawn chair and enjoy a book or newspaper while I paint, but rather that we plan too many activities in the time we have available.

Well, I am going to look at changing the planning process...since I am the one that does all the planning and making of reservations. We have a driving trip planned the end of July into August. We are meeting our kids at Bass Lake, CA just outside of Yosemite National Park. Bob and I are planning to be gone about three weeks. Our drive to CA will include scenic roads through Sequoia National Park. We will be outside of Yosemite for a week with our kids. Our drive home will be through St. George, Utah and Zion National Park. Just think of the painting scenes just waiting for me!! As I build the schedule and make the reservations I am going to build in dedicated painting time. Hopefully my strategy will be successful! I will let you know!

Polly Revised

At the Arizona Pastel Art Association meeting last weekend we invited Judith, Spitz, a local pastel instructor and show judge to come to the meeting for a critique session. Members bring a painting they would like to have feedback on to the meeting. I decided to take the painting of Polly I shared in the last blog. As a result of the critique I made changes to the painting. Judith gave me the following constructive criticism:

1. The green pillow was dominating the original version of the painting. It was suggested that the painting be revised to take the emphasis off of the pillow. I decided to address the issue by having Polly's leg over the pillow as opposed to behind the pillow.

2. There needed to be green in other areas of the painting to provide more harmony of color. I made the green in the sheet pattern more apparent where before they were very low key. I also added a little green to Polly in her ears. Finally I added some green to the crease in the back pillow that is predominantly burgundy.

The result is a much stronger painting. Sometimes another set of eyes....especially more knowledgeable eyes....can see things that the painter just does not recognize. It provides great opportunity for growth!

Polly

With some time over the holidays I have gotten to some projects that have been waiting for my attention....some for awhile. One of those is a painting of our Springer Spaniel, Polly. We had two Springer Spaniels, Polly and Alex, when we lived in Michigan that were wonderful pets. We lost Alex at a young age in the mid 90's when he twisted a gut and died of a heart attack before we could get the surgery done to hopefully save him. We weren't sure how Polly would deal with his loss as they were inseparable. Besides that fact.....Polly was blind and used Alex as a guide dog. Polly suffered from a condition that is being bred out of the Springer Spaniels.....however....it is a formidable task as it doesn't show up until about age 2 and many females have already been bred at that age. The retina separates from the back of the eye and there is nothing that can be done. However, Polly did fine and adjusted to being without Alex. We had her for many more years. She was a faithful trooper and a loving companion. She lost her hearing and began to suffer from displasia of the hips. She finally started having neurological problems and we would find her turning in circles. With the vet, we decided her quality of life had deteriorated to the point that we needed to put her to sleep. We still think of both Polly and Alex often. I had done a painting of Alex prior to his death (see website under Animals), but had never gotten to Polly although I had a photo that I thought perfectly showed her sweet personality. She was our couch potato and the photo showed her lounging among the bed pillows. I greatly enjoyed doing the painting. It brought back many happy memories as well as the sadness of losing her.