 |
"The Birds and the Bs"
by Linda Meyer-Wright |
In this issuePeggy Brown workshop
The Venue Show
T.C. Steele paintout
Aureolin Alert
Inspiration: Linda Meyer-Wright
Plus more…
Presidential column
By Kriste Lindberg
“The skies are clearing, the skies are clearing!” Okay, so that was a bit of a take off on the Little Red Hen.
Fact is, I bet I’m not the only one happy to receive sunshine and warmth after the past month or so of rain, wind, and cold.
That means, it’s time to get out and paint – whether it’s your park, a paintout (just follow our new signs once you’re in the vicinity!), or just on your own for fun. We have plenty of opportunities for doing artwork and they are listed here in Brushstrokes.
Other good ways to make your mark include participating in our new exchange table (debuted last month), attending a workshop (next one is May 28 - Peggy Brown), coming out to see our show at The Venue (up until Sunday, May 16th), or simply stopping by a meeting.
We have some exciting new ventures that we’re considering, such as networking at the state level and possibly through Facebook.
The warmer, drier weather offers a welcome respite from the cold – literally and figuratively.
See you out there!
Members sketch portraits at May meeting
 |
Tricia Wente gave members tips about facial proportions and
painting portraits at the May meeting. Next month, Jean Vietor
will show members how to paint "Sticks and Stones." |
 |
| Susan Webb and her portrait sketch |
Working with design and technique
to create paintings and art quilts
The BWS spring workshop will combine traditional and experimental design and techniques. Participants may choose to work on either paper or fabric. Brown’s workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at the First Christian Church, which is at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington. The cost is $55 for members and $65 for non-members.
Important info for registrants …
If you’ve signed up for Peggy Brown’s May 28 workshop, plan to arrive at First Christian Church at 8:30 to set up and enjoy bagels and coffee.
If you plan to work on paper, bring some sheets of lightweight drawing paper for quickie experiments, several nice pieces of watercolor paper and pieces or scraps of already painted papers to use in designing a collage. If you have a painting you are willing to cut up or tear, bring it.
If you want to work with fabric, you’ll need a yard or so of white cotton, interfacing, silk, organza or flannel for painting technique examples; pieces or scraps of already painted fabrics if you have them; and a blank white piece of fabric to use as a background during the design section.
Other supplies: Transparent watercolors (any brand but Peggy says the more expensive brands give better results); acrylics, pencils, crayons; Nu-pastels, charcoal or media of your choice; at least two waterproof boards or pieces of plexi-glass to support work in progress; palette, brushes, water container; found objects such as feathers, dried flowers, thread, string lace and tissue papers.
Also, bring scissors, masking tape, ruler, pencil, eraser, old ruined mat for viewing work in progress and a pair of rubber gloves for crunching and shibori techniques.
… and wannabe registrants
To reserve one of the few spots left for the Peggy Brown Workshop, e-mail Deloris Schneider at deloris_2003@yahoo.com by 5 p.m. May 14.
Cancellations must be made by May 14 for a full refund. Cancellations made after May 14 will not be eligible to receive a refund. However, an enrolled person may “sell” a registration to someone else; however, members@bloomingtonwatercolor.org must be informed of the changes.
BWS gets good press for good showing
in city’s 1st Creative Aging Festival
The Sunday Herald Times included several BWS members in its May 8 article about art by “senior” artists.
The front page of the Arts Section featured a photograph of Connie Brorson with her art at Meadowwood, and the article and inside photographs highlighted the BWS show at The Venue.
 |
Above: "Top three paintings" of Venue show. Right: Nina Ost toasts her "Absurd Bird." |
HT reporter Marcella Cripes interviewed Linda Meyer-Wright, Deborah Rush and Nancy Davis Metz, whose paintings had been selected as the top three of the show.
BWS members displayed work in several downtown galleries, with the Venue drawing more than 35 paintings from 20 artists.
The Venue and BWS will host a closing reception Friday, May 13, at 6 p.m. The Venue is at 114 S. Grant St.
T.C. Steele State Historic Site
Festival of Flowers Paintout to draw BWS artists
BWS has chosen the May 21 Festival of Flowers PaintOut at T.C. Steele State Historic Site as its second paintout of the year.
BWS Paintout Chair Jacki Frey says the event allows members to choose their level of participation. People can preregister and compete, they can go to the site and paint without entering the competition, or they can just enjoy watching others paint, listening to the music of Craig Brenner Trio or watching a demonstration by Artist-in-Residence Cheryl Kaldahl.
Anyone planning to compete needs to preregister by May 16. A registration form and contest rules are available at http://www.tcsteele.org/paintout2011form.pdf. Ribbons will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention in each category plus a People’s Choice. Registration is $10 for adults, $5 for children and teens. Checks should be made payable to “Friends of T.C. Steele, Inc.”
 |
BWS painters enjoy rare dry April day. |
 |
Bob Burris' finished painting of Stone Bridge |
 |
Painter's setup at McCormick's
Creek State Park |
Break in weather well-timed for April painters
April 30 was one of the few dry days of the month, and several painters ventured out to paint the McCormick’s Creek State Park stone bridge.
While we’re talking
about painting outside
Candi Bailey suggests using individually wrapped insect repellent wipes instead of spray because they take up less room and they are better for your face. Good suggestion!
It’s dues time
The deadline for paying annual BWS dues is June 30. Regular membership is $25, a family membership costs $40, and a student membership is $10. Payment will cover membership through June 2012.
To pay, go to http://www.BloomingtonWatercolor.org , click on To Join and then the PayPal link. Or you can mail a check to BWS, PO Box 5236, Bloomington, IN 47407-5236. Of course, you can also bring check or cash to the June 13 BWS meeting.
If you’ve joined BWS since Jan. 1, 2011, you’re paid up till June 2012 and can ignore these reminders.
Banish Aureolin from your palette
Aureolin PY fades and takes on a brownish cast. This can happen on a painting or even in your palette. It has an ASTMII rating, but manufacturers and independent testing have confirmed the pigment’s instability. The best substitute, according to Hilary Page, is PY 175. She recommends Winsor Lemon, Daniel Smith’s Lemon Yellow, MaimeriBlu’s Permanent Yellow Lemon or Schmincke’s Chrome Yellow Lemon as replacements. To read more, go to http://www.hilarypage.com/#page7 . (Thanks, Carol Rhodes, for sharing this information.) Art and hiking combo
Anyone interested in combining art and hiking activities, please contact BWS member Betty Wagoner at blw89@yahoo.com or call her at 765-349-1210. In conjunction with a local hiking/camping group, Betty led several “art hikes” last year in Bradford Woods and at the Tecumseh Trail at Yellowwood Lake.
Upcoming “art hikes” are scheduled at T.C. Steele in July and Turkey Run/Shades State Park in September. Participants can make it a day outing or join us for overnight camping. The art activity is personal choice and could include painting, sketching or writing.
These “art hikes” were inspired by a trip to New Mexico in which Betty joined a group following in the footsteps of Georgia O’Keefe. The trip is offered again this year and will be led by an artist and an outing leader from New York State, with Betty assisting. If the New Mexico trip intrigues you, contact Betty.
Open Paint Day
Jacki Frey invites BWS members to her Blue Parrot Studio Thursday, May 26, to paint Cityscapes/Street Scenes. She will have images for painters, or you may provide your own.
The session runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and costs $40. The address is 5024 W. September Dr., Bloomington. Call Jacki at 320-6745 or e-mail jackifrey@hotmail.com to rsvp or ask questions.
Check out this blog
Former BWS member James Yang announces his new blog jadecalligraphy.blogspot.com. You can view his beautiful calligraphy and listen to his erhu music at the same time.
 |
| by Joseph Fettingis |
Beyond BWS Artworks of Martinsville is having a workshop Aug. 26 – 27 with Joseph Fettingis doing a landscape as well as portrait in his glazing technique. The workshop will be at First Christian Church, 89 S. Main St. in Martinsville and will cost $150. The sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
 |
"The Birds and the Bs" by Linda Meyer-Wright |
Inspiration
Linda Meyer-Wright describes her
'pushy' styleBirds have been invading Linda Meyer-Wright’s work from the beginning.
Her first paintings were of parrots and flamingoes. “Retrospectively, I called them my ‘early birds,’” Linda said, adding that she thought of them as divas, not birds.
She gave them a rest for a while, but birds have started creeping into everything the last couple of years. “Even when I’m doing an abstract, birds are always hanging out,” she said.
Linda can’t explain why birds recur in her artwork, but she says she likes the balance and harmony of birds existing everywhere – on earth, at sea and in the sky. And birds do have personality, she said.
“The Birds and the Bs,” her painting that was recognized as one of the top three paintings in the May BWS show at the Venue, started as a watercolor pattern piece. The first step was spraying watercolor through cobwebbing. “I saw a bird and thought if there’s room for one, there’s room for me,” Linda said.
“The Bs just came to me – B for Bloomington, B-town.” She then developed the painting through glazing – “tons of layers,” in her words. She used a really thick Bismuth Yellow “almost straight from the tube,” she said, to make the prominent yellow strokes.
“It was a very boring painting until I did the eyes,” Linda said. “I did that at the end and saw the birds’ personalities.”
Linda started painting in 2000. “I guess that makes me a true 21st century artist,” she said with a laugh.
Linda says some people categorize her work as abstract, but she disagrees: “Maybe I’m just a bad drawer.” She describes her style as exaggerated. “Everything comes out bigger,” she said. “People know it’s a bird – but not an anatomically correct bird. I push colors, too. Maybe that means I have a very pushy style.”
Her palette includes many Daniel Smith colors, she says, because she “can mix them with anything and they make it livelier.” She also likes Holbein’s Peacock Blue.
She currently is working on a “Courting Chaos” theme that is both serious and lighthearted. “I think chaos gets a bad rap,” Linda said, adding that part of her inspiration is the chaos of her studio. “Working in mixed media is terrible. I need this and that and nothing ever gets put away. There’s tower of pencils, pastels, paint, paper towels. But it all finds a way into things.”
Art supply and hardware stores are her weakness. “Even Lowe’s, I can’t get out of there,” she said. “When I buy something I may not even know how I’m going to use it.”
Her most recent purchase? Iron-on wood veneer.
Let’s see what she does with that.
Tickler file for your calendar
May 13 - 14 -- Awesome Artists' Yard Sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1114 Brooks Dr. (off Covenanter between High Street and College Mall Road). Portion of proceeds will go to purchasing tent for 4th Street Fair children's activities
May 13 – Closing reception at 6 p.m. The Venue, 114 S. Grant St.
May 14 – Registration deadline for Peggy Brown Workshop
May 21 – Festival of the Flowers Paintout at T.C. Steele Historic Site. 7 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
May 26 – Open Paint Day at Jacki Frey’s Blue Parrot Studio
May 28 – Peggy Brown Workshop sponsored by BWS. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington.
June 13 – BWS monthly meeting. First Christian Church at the corner of Kirkwood and Washington. Following brief business meeting, Jean Vietor will instruct group on how to paint sticks and stones.
June 30 – Deadline for paying dues.
Aug. 26 – 27 – Joseph Fettingis workshop sponsored by Artworks of Martinsville
