Wine bottle still life in pastel 12"x16"

Took this to Milwaukee Sketch Club critique on 2/10/09. Need to darken where cheese and wine glass meet table.

Ginger Frederick

Here's a very nice artist I met Friday night. http://www.gingerfrederick.com/index.html

The Importance of Practice

Here's a link to Jack Hampton where he emphasizes the importance of practicing art. I really agree with him. http://www.clintwatson.net/blog/8245

Design Drawing & Color Theory - Class 2

Learned about blind & semi-blind contour drawing.

Learned a little bit about Al Hirschfeld. Here's some more info from the web about him.
biography: http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/hirschfe.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Hirschfeld
Video of him making a drawing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC1t2DmCeAU
His works organized by decade: http://www.alhirschfeld.com/artwork/originals.html

Practiced semi-blind contour drawing this week. Here's my best result.

Cedarburg Cultural Center - Miniature Art Exhibit

Joyce has some paintings in this Exhibit. http://www.cedarburgculturalcenter.org/Art-GalleriesExhibitsFairs.htm

Gala: Saturday, January 31,2009
Artist Reception: Sunday, February 1, 2009
Closes Sunday, March 21, 2009

15" conte & charcoal sketch on brown paper

From Milwaukee Sketch Club Tuesday night drawing session.

Watercolor pencil Sketch

Did this sketch on bristol while waiting for my niece at piano lessons. I think I really like these watercolor pencils.

Plant on a window, Pastel Plein Air

At first it was very overcast but then the sun peaked out and the plant's leaves became translucent in places and the light glowed on the window and snow.

Caran D'Ache Supracolor watercolor pencil demo at Artist N' Display Sunday 1/25/09

Demo was given by Pam Scesniak at Artist N' display on Caran D'Ache Supracolor(R) soft Aquarelle color pencils. See http://www.carandache.ch/m/la-couleur/artistes-et-professionnels/les-crayons/supracolor/index.lbl for more info.

She started out by taping down a 140" watercolor paper to a board, then drawing with the side of the pencil lead onto dry paper. She showed how one color could be blended into the other. You could then take a brush and wet the colors. Let the paper dry before untaping so it will dry flat and not wrinkled.

Can take a wet brush and pull off color from the pencil to use it that way. Can spatter. (Closer for tiny dense spatters, further away for bigger less dense spatters.) Then need to let pencil dry before drawing with it because the water softens the lead.

These pencils are great for plein air sketching. Just keep them shaded so hot sun doesn't soften lead. Pam splits her paper in half and does 2 sketch on one sheet. The top before noon sketch and the bottom a 2 pm sketch.

2 ways to work wet into wet: One way is to apply the pencil while the paper is glistening wet, the other is after the shine is gone. If using 300# paper can soak overnight then blot so interior is wet and outsides mostly dry.

For details can draw then go over lightly with brush to fill in paper's crevices.

Try different kinds of paper: Hot press(smoothest), Cold press and rough.

Here's a drawing I did with Supracolor and Prismacolor ( http://www.prismacolor.com/sanford/consumer/prismacolor/product/subCategory.jhtml?subCat=SNPRCat100029&countCat=SNPRCat100034 ) watercolor pencils on 140# Bienfang paper. Very bright. Thinking of going over it with pastels.

Pencil Sketch using Durer Grid Method

(1st assignment) Assessment #1 for design drawing and color theory class

Some Excellent Wood Sculptures by Jim Gardner

In process pastel painting from sketch made earlier this week at Milwaukee Sketch Club

Pastel on charcoal paper.

Design Drawing & Color Theory - Class 1

Watched a video and learned a little bit about 10 Renaissance artists, their accomplishments and contributions to the history and evolution of art: Giotto- perspective, Ghiberti- human form, Donatello- Contrapposto, Uccello- depth, Masaccio- emotion/drama, della Francesca- chiaroscuro, Botticelli- nonchristian subject matter, da Vinci- science, analysis, sfumato, Raphael- balance, composition and Michelangelo- sculpture, painting.

Activity 1- practiced making marks with pencils ranging from 6B-6H, #3 and #8 micron pens, blue non-reproducing pencil and erasing with white vinyl erasor.

Activity 2- practiced copying and duplicating the lines of a drawing by Topolski.

Watched a video on Albrecht Durer. Now using Grid to copy a drawing for Assessment #1.

AC Art Association Monday Critique by Pat King

AC Art Association's 60th Annual Fall Exhibit at Mount Mary's Marian Art Gallery ends Sunday. http://www.mtmary.edu/marian.htm

WRAP, Wisconsin Regional Art Program has an upcoming exhibit in Waukesha, artwork due March 28, 2009 and in West Allis, artwork due May 9, 2009. http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/LSA/art/wrap/wrap-schedule.htm

Pat King is a local Milwaukee artist, born in New York, raised in New Jersey. Attended Columbia University, visited? San Miguel, Mx; and studied art history in Paris. She has taught art at shorewood highschool, MATC and MIAD. She is a member of the Milwaukee League of Artists. http://www.leagueofmilwaukeeartists.com/ That's all I remember from the introduction and couldn't find more info about her on the web.

The critique evaluated, composition, technique, color, value, perspective and emotional quality.

In Pat's closing comments she encouraged us to carry a sketchbook, take your own photos, to let pieces evolve, to push ourselves, to make a collage from cutup overworked paintings you don't like, don't limit yourself to formula and theory.

Another horizontal black & white portrait in pastel

Black & White study of a Girl using pastel

Horizontal format worked better than vertical (portrait) format.

Flower in a pot - pastel

Stringing wire on back of frame using D-rings

Leave about a 3" tail and twist wire around itself. Pull tight, don't leave slack.

Also a picture of wood touch up markers.

Attaching D-rings to back of frame

Measure about 1/4 - 1/3 down from top of frame. Screw in D-rings with Flat Philips-Zinc Plated 6 x 5/8 screws.

Attaching paper backing to Wooden Frame BEFORE putting on D-rings

1. Put double sided tape along frame edges
2. Stretch paper over frame
3. Sand with coarse (60 grit) sandpaper to trim
4. Attach D-ring
   

Point driver for driving points into wooden frames

Model F500-1

Prepping store bought frames for use

1. Remove packaging, may need staple remover to get cardboard off.
2. Remove back BUT leave in glass.
3. Put front side down
   
4. Dust inside of glass with paper towel dampened with glass cleaner.
5. Put in matted & mounted artwork face down
6. If it's a metal frame clips might already be on frame to keep artwork in
7. If it's wooden frame metal points are used to hold in artwork
   

Note:
Some metal frames may have built in clips.
Some wooden frames may already have in the metal points

Notes on Mounting a Pastel Painting using T-hinges and matboard spacers

I used Lineco Self Adhesive Archival Linen Hinging tape. Since I usually have a white edge from taping my pastels to a board and cover the edges with a matt, I just did reinforced T-hinges on the front.

Then I cut 1" spacers from matboard per p. 128 of Logan's book and attached them to the backing board with double sided tape.

Linen tape was used along the edge to attach mat window to backing board.

Matt Cutting Notes

When you cut your matboard to size, cut it a smidgy less (maybe about 1/32-1/16 less) than standard frame size so your mat has room to expand & contract. Also standard frames may not be exact. See pp.70-72 of Mat, Mount and Frame It Yourself by M. David Logan (ISBN0-8230-3038-5) for excellent directions with pictures on how to size matboard. It even has a diagram that shows you how to get the most blanks from a standard size matboard.

Cutting the Mat Window. See chapter 5 starting on p. 83 of Logans book.

• Always start with a brand new blade and use a slip sheet when cutting bevel edges
  
• Can use the side of the mat cutter to mark mat window consistently
  
• Indicator lines help you determine where to start and end the cutting
• 1st you pivot the blade down, then you pull it smoothly while holding blade down firmly. Hold the bar down so your mat doesn't move while cutting.

I really like my Logan mat cutter. It made very nice mats quickly and easily.

Some sketches

Portion of quick charcoal sketch from Tuesday night Milwaukee Sketch Club and an experiment using just 3 pastel sticks, dark purple, yellow and white per About.com January painting project instructions. http://painting.about.com/b/2009/01/01/january-2009-painting-project-a-color-and-its-complementary.htm

Link to subscribe via feedblitz to my blog; Kats Mish Mash

http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=407700

Audrey Dulmes Pastel Demo at AC Art Association Monday 1/5/09 meeting

Audrey Dulmes gave a pastel demo using soft Unison pastels on Wallis sanded pastel paper. She painted a field in France from her last trip. She likes to pleine aire paint. Here's a link to some of her pictures and information about her, http://www.leagueofmilwaukeeartists.com/audrey_dulmes.htm . She also does oils.

She started with sanded pastel paper that had a red wash on it since she was doing an outdoor scene with lots of greens in it. She started with the sky, then worked around the painting starting with the darkest colors and biggest shapes to end up with the lightest colors and smallest shapes. She used a piece of styrofoam to blend the sky. Trees and green foliage started out with a dark purple. Probably used about 20 different pastel sticks. Mostly finished in less than 2 hours.

She likes to use Unison, schminke, sennelier and rembrandt pastels. She wears an apron her easle is not 90 degree vertical but tilted back maybe 25-30 degrees. She had an aluminum trough to catch the dust and wore an apron. She uses winsor and newton barrier cream. She uses the Heilman's pastel box, http://www.heilmandesigns.com/ , which is good for pleinaire and traveling. You can attach it to a tripod and also attach an easle to it? She carriers her pastels (chalk) in her carryon.

2 color sketches

Flower in a pot with foil in regular pastel and starfruit in oil pastels.

Tom Nachreiner 2008 Workshops

Got a postcard giving the dates of his workshops for 2008 which you can also find at http://www.tomnachreiner.com/workshops3.html . He gave a demo last year at the milwaukee sketch club - see April 8, 2008 post.

Duane Keiser & 2 pastel sketches

Here's 2 pastel sketches. I've been thinking on an article about Duane Keiser in the Oct 2008 issue of the Artist's magazine, http://www.artistsnetwork.com/magazines/ .

He's credited with starting a painting a day movement. See http://duanekeiser.blogspot.com/ .

I like the way that he says that "magic happens not without diligence" He learned his work ethic from his artist teacher Raymond Berry http://faculty.rmc.edu/rberry/public_html/bio1.html at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA. Basically "think of art as blue collar work....Sometimes you don't feel inspired and painting just feels like digging ditches. Highway workers don't tell their boss that I don't feel like paving a road today and if they can work in 100 degree heat, we can get to an easel." I think to learn or improve at anything you need to practice. It's like lifting weights. When you first start you can only lift a little but the more you practice the more you can lift.

About.com's Painting A Day: 31 Ideas for January & January Painting Project

About.com has 31 painting ideas for January http://painting.about.com/od/inspiration/tp/painting-a-day-ideas-january.htm?

The January painting project (due Jan 29) is Single Color & Its complementary http://painting.about.com/od/submissiongallery/ig/Painting-Project-Comp-Color/Painting-Project--Comp-Colors.htm

MAM Milwaukee Art Museum

Went to MAM, Milwaukee Art Museum, http://www.mam.org/ today.

Played with their Act/React Interactive Art Featured Exhibit http://www.mam.org/act/index.htm

Haven't been to MAM for a long time. They have a underground parking garage that is heated to the same temperature as a house. Can buy a $20 parking pass good for 5 times.

Enjoyed Catesby, Audubon and the Discovery of a New World that is here until 3/22/09. Also JoAnna Poehlmann's, Drawn to Nature exhibit. http://66.162.233.131/ent/articles/poehlmann.html Not much info about her on the web. Very exquisite, excellent draftsmanship & ties in well with the Discovery of a New World exhibit. Also enjoyed the museums permanent collections.