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.