Workshop Photos on my iPad

I know that ALL of you blog readers have taken many workshops (me too) and that many of you have GIVEN workshops (me too).

But once in a while there just seems to be one that initiates that amazing kind of electricity in anticipation that you can't quite define.

So it is that I anticipate a week long workshop with John Lovett (Australian watercolorist) beginning a week from today.

If you are a reader of International Artist Magazine, he writes columns in that magazine regularly, has made many DVDs and leads international workshops all over the world. Now he is coming to Lac du Flambeau, WI????? I know. I am amazed too. 15 minutes away from my tiny little cabin practically hidden in the woods. If you google Dillman's Resort you will find out more about where this magical spot is. And if you click on workshops you can find John's class description. (You will also find a plethora of very fine artists teaching there!)

I am sorry that I have only really a week to enjoy the anticipation and get ready. As you can tell from previous blogs, part of the week is taken up with just finding where my supplies have gone to and dusting off the studio and finding the supply list...yadda yadda yadda.

Thus the first photo of the initial supplies... finding just the right watercolors, gouache, gesso, pens, inks, pastel pencils, watercolor pencils, rice papers, and acrylics along with just the right brushes (almost all flats). I tore 3 sheets of Arches 140 cold press into quarter sheets this morning. I found that for the most part...I had everything I needed. He uses some very small flats for details but I dug some up.

One problem...I couldn't find any charcoal pencils in any of my catalogs. I am sure they are somewhere, but it seemed only in sets and I am asked to bring only black and brown. Sigh. Hopefully, he'll have some for sale? If anyone knows where you can buy these separately let me know. It'll be too late for the workshop...but maybe later.

I have decided to bring my photo references to the workshop on my iPad.

I sorted those I wanted to bring on my desk top into an album.

Then I synced the two devices and downloaded the album to the iPad. Voila.

You can see what the album looks like opened up with small photos. And I enlarged one to full screen to give you the idea. It'll be much nicer than trying to print it off on my inkjet and also much easier on the pocket book in terms of printer ink. The color on the iPad is splendid.

The battery is good for 10 hours so I should be good to go.

I'll let you know how that works out!!

I may do a few sketches from the iPad this week as our weather forecast is totally gloomy for the entire week!!!

Making the Studio Ready for the summer

I don't know about you...but when I want to "work" the space needs to be somewhat organized and inviting. My studio is a 1/4 chunk of a nice garage here in northern Wisconsin. Last year I even got a real door that I can shut. My hubby put in a nice picture window for me a few years back so that I have some good natural light facing toward our lake.

The studio has been getting a little grungier the last few years and it surely does need more finish work, but I need to get going now...have a class with John Lovett coming up June 6 and my en plein air group starts up this Thursday. So today was unpack, clean, vacuum and organize day. It's not done..but I made a real dent.

I just got here from FL last Thursday and I do bring my paints back and forth because the cabin is unheated here (not good for paints) and because I want my brushes, palettes and some collage materials like some stencils and stamps and papers. Any paintings you see, however, were left here. I don't have room to carry paintings back and forth. I decided to hang more of them this year as it seems that otherwise they get knocked around and it's not good for the frames or the paintings to be "stacked". Our cabin itself has very little wall space for hanging paintings...so the studio has to make do for this purpose.

Weather has "moderated" somewhat here in the northern part of WI so that we are now averaging 65 most days. We might get into the 70s tomorrow although it looks like rain again! It would be fun to see where you all paint too.

Transparent Watercolor Society of America

One delightful interlude on my trip from FL to WI this spring was a stop in Kenosha, WI to see this exhibit. It was amazing! The boat watercolor painting was at least a full sheet...maybe slightly larger. It was by Steve Rogers of FL and is called "Naoussa Light".

The second is by Catherine Hearing of Minnesota. Slightly smaller. It is called "New Vintage".

It was a large exhibit and I'll show a few more later. The joy of the transparency is, of course, the GLOW. These two demonstrate this dramatically.

Some paintings from past exhibits are online...just google TWSA.

Remember me?

We are finally back to our cabin in the north woods of WI...following an extended trip of sight seeing and visiting friends and family. Bet you thought I'd disappeared in a tornado. But that is not funny, is it. We drove through Alabama about 10 days after their tornados went through and we were absolutely stunned with sadness. And now Joplin, MO too.

Photos in this blog entry are from Callaway Gardens, GA on May 9 and 10. We enjoyed two days there. This little log cabin caught my eye one day...it was a steamy 97 degrees that day and I was so glad I'd brought a folding chair! I haven't gotten back to put in the printing on the cabin yet. And I need to throw a few shadows into the foreground. I took a TON of photos for later.

I'll try to get more of the travel sketches online soon.

I am trying to adjust to dial up again in the boon docks up here.

It is almost painful!

What a whiner!

One Quick Sketch Before We GO

In the sunshine today it was 100 degrees in central FL. But the humidity was not too high and we had a lovely breeze. I think in the shade it might have been 90. It was just beautiful actually.

You'll see Greg and I enjoying one last swing in our back yard and I took out my sketch book and did a little sketch of our neighbor's porch/yard next door. They have already left for Michigan! I left a little vignette room off to the right so I can write some things about our last day.

I feel like we are the last snow birds to leave Hawthorne Park! But we probably are not. The really awful midwest weather has not enticed us to leave sooner.

We are about ready to pack the car now (BIG DEAL) and then we may go down and have one more swim in the pool and cool off. Hope to be back on the blog by Memorial Day Weekend. Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day!

Blogging on the run?

With the arrival of my new iPad2 I began yet another learning curve! Yikes. I read my first book on it (Kindle App) and that was quite fun. I am not giving up on books, but I can see how easy it is, especially when in transit to have your books on this device!!! I am downloading a rental movie to watch as we go along.

Another thing I thought might be fun would be to be able to blog along as I travel. How hard could that be? Hmmm. Turns out it is not quite the cinch I thought. You have to have a blogging app!

I've been reviewing the blog apps and so far "Blogsy" seems to be the best choice. Although at this point in time, adding photos to the blog through this app is not a breeze.

Are there any other "Bloggers" out there that are using an iPad? It might be fun to hear about which app you are using. I think I can write on my blog without using an app but I cannot put any graphics or photos on without an app to do that.

We are leaving on Monday. We'll stop for a few days at Calloway Gardens, GA before heading toward WI. I missed the azaleas unfortunately. But hopefully I'll find other things in bloom.

Then we'll head toward the Natchez Trace and head up toward Nashville. Then to Paducah, KY and then s.e. WI for a 10 days to visit the kids and old friends.

A Picture of me....

Sometimes it is better to be humbled by the vision someone else has of you. That is sort of the way I felt when I got this portrait done of me (by my 4 year old grandson, Mike).

His mother explains that those are my "fingers" hanging off my arms. I think having that many would be a huge help in art, don't you?

The round circle I interpret as a belly button.

And the choice of hair color really does not have much to do with me (I hope). At least it's not gray!

Having taught early childhood education for over 30 years...I am delighted to see this "very developmentally appropriate" rendition of granny. Arms always come right out of the head first. The next bench mark will probably the body and then the arms coming from the body.

The the fingers ARE fascinating, aren't they?

I am preparing now to leave Florida in a few days. These "transition" periods are very strange for me when I am not really in one place or in the other yet. A science fiction sort of thing...time warp.

Congratulations Leslie!

Those of you who follow my blog know that I posted this painting by Leslie Johnson during the winter. She was in my acrylic paper painting class last fall and finished up the painting later.

I just got this message from her today...

Ginny, I just had to let you know that I submitted my artwork from your Workshop last year, the painted paper acrylic collage/painting, to the Eagle River (WI) Revitalization Project, Artscape, and it was selected and sponsored by Ogren Electronics for this summer long event! I believe 40 were selected. They took the artwork from each entry, blew it up to be reproduced on 24” x 51” banners that will hang on Wall and

Railroad Streets from Memorial Day until Veterans Day! The project will also be showcasing the art and artists in full color brochures and on posters and promoted as a walking tour . I am so excited! Leslie

I am so proud of Leslie!!! Well done and I can hardly wait to go to Eagle River to see the banners this summer! Nothing makes a teacher happier than successful students!

Telling a Story

Some paintings tell a story or hint at a story. When I painted the old train depot in Winter Garden, Fl earlier this month (en plein air) I could not help but be amused by the contrast between the history of the museum and the children being given their "train ride" right up to the door.

I decided to add an older man in the painting just to maybe give the idea that he was also amused by the contrast or maybe thinking of other days?

Any ideas for a title for the painting?

Watercolor and ink on canvas. 12 x 16.

Sketch book at Key West

For some reason these photos of my sketch book seem a little on the yellow tint. Sorry about that. Anyway...the first sketch is down on Mallory Square where we ate dinner by the gulf the first night.

The second is the view from our lovely little porch overlooking the pool and portico at Hyatt Sunset West.

The third & fourth are Fort Zachary Taylor on the gulf beach...just a lovely spot. Greg and I walked 3 miles round trip and so enjoyed being there. I do wish we had brought or worn our suits! The water was 80 and it was so nice. The fruit smoothies were good too!

I took a lot of photo reference shots that I will enjoy thinking over in the months ahead!

Unfortunately I got back to Leesburg (a day's drive north of Key West) with a pretty bad chest cold and cough. I have been to the doctor and she has me on meds for it. I feel better today but am not sleeping well so am tired. Boo hoo. Whine whine.

I have not been sick in so long I forgot what it is like! Taking it easy today. 90 in central Florida.

Mario Sanches: primitive art of Key West

"Mario does his bas relief wood sculpture with three chisels and his painting with dime store brushes. He does not study art as it might effect his style."

The Key West Art Museum has a great exhibit of Mario's work along with information on how he carved and painted his relief paintings.

He used natural materials in his work like coffee grounds and egg shells for texture. A real "mixed media" artist of his day!

The top one shows the cigar making industry and also shows a "reader" who was hired to read to the people working there. He read news articles to them in the morning and a book by chapters in the afternoons. Not a bad idea for people doing somewhat mindless work in pre-air conditioning days!

Mario died at 96 in 2005 and leaves a legacy of the early history of the keys! I found the work quite interesting!

Is this art? The controversial J. Seward Johnson

Just coming off an amazing week in Key West...part of which included a visit to the main art and history museum featuring some of Seward Johnson Jr's mixed media displays. I hesitate to call them "art" and as you will see if you check out this site.

But it is certainly not dull reading!

This interactive display is, of course, based on Gustave Caillebotte's wonderful work called Paris Street: Rainy Day 1877. I have seen this painting many times at the Art Institute in Chicago. More on the trip, some of the sketchbook sketches and beautiful photos in the next few days.

En Plein Air in Winter Garden

I worked this morning on the old train station and train museum in Winter Garden, FL. By noon it was 91 degrees with high humidity.

The committee provides us with umbrellas and there was a light breeze.

Next week when I get back from Key West I'll see about finishing this up.

Watercolor on canvas.

A demo by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson

Elizabeth made a visit to Leesburg Art Association for a demo today.

What a thrill to finally meet her. Although I had seen her DVD and watched a movie about her life and work so I felt like I already knew her.

You might remember that she is a "paper painter". She paints her own paper and then tears it into "brushstrokes". The painting is all paper pieces except for the background.

I have my fingers crossed that the club can book her for a workshop next year!

Flower and Garden Show at Epcot

What a beautiful day on Tuesday (March 22) in central Florida. It was 85 and sunny and Greg and I had a delightful time looking at the flowers, attending a workshop, browsing in the butterfly house, eating lunch in Norway, and taking lots of photos!

Here we are on the boat ride between Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

This weekend my artist friend Durinda will be painting (in Italy) at Epcot. I think she'll have dry weather for her en plein air work although I do see 89 for Sunday! Going to be a little hot.

We had a wonderful LONG spell of warm and dry weather here to a fire danger point, actually.

And so my daughter is arriving from Chicago tomorrow evening. And now the rain comes!

Sigh. It could have waited just a few more days!

Gridding

ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) are 2.5 x 3.5" big. As most of you know, it's kind of a fun phenomenon that has come into it's own.

At my senior residential park in central Florida, the art group has found them to be good practice and not take too much of a commitment of time.

We bring them to our monthly meetings to trade. The chair of it, suggests a theme each month.

This month we are making copies in miniature of great masterpieces. As everyone explores the idea, I suggested they try "gridding" which is normally used to "enlarge" things.

Here is my sample. The colors are not very true because I chose to use InkTense watercolor pencils and white acrylic ink and one only has so many choices of colors.

Am hoping to get out into en plein air again this week if I can find a free morning or afternoon. Temps are in the mid 80s here now and so mornings are best.

En Plein Air at the Florida Carriage Museum and Resort

None of us had ever been here before and thanks to friend, Diane, who gave us a head's up about where are the best places on the 400 acres, we found a lovely shady spot.

Sure enough...windy again. Not quite as bad as last Wednesday but it was blowing a little storm into Central Florida which dropped rain later around 7 pm.

But we had splendid sunshine all morning so painted from 9:30 to 12:30 and then had a lovely picnic lunch together. We all worked in wc except for Sherese who worked in pastel.

What a super morning. We chose the koi pond (although none of us painted the fish today), with scenic overview of the pastures below, gentle pond shadows and gates.

After lunch we walked the carriage museum ($10 each) for a unique look at the some really amazing carriages of all sizes and shapes. Most were once horse-drawn. Who knew there were that many?

This was our last hurrah for this season I think. Dawn is RVing off to NC for some sailing regattas and the rest of us have trips and company coming. We all hope to get together again next November!!!

Up north (in WI) Florie Enders has put together our en plein air schedule for the summer. So I'll be joining that gang up there in mid-June.

I have signed up for a John Lovett workshop at Dillmans in early June this summer. Am SO excited.

The Wednesday Painters in the WIND!

Turns out my friend, Donna, ADORES horses and lives on a ranch. Actually, there are a ton of people who love horses in central Florida. From Orlando up through Ocala, you'd think you were in Kentucky! So yesterday morning she invited the en plein air group to paint at her ranch.

The day was scudded with clouds but temps were nice hovering around 75. The problem was WIND. Now this was my first time to paint in that much wind.

Wind certainly challenges the outdoor painter in many ways. Some of them I didn't expect.

First off if you are going to use an umbrella for sun protection...forget it. Find yourself some shade and wear a hat that clamps to your head. No big wide brimmed hat today!!!

Next you have to find a way to secure a lightweight aluminum easel. (Or give up your easel and go with sketching.) What I did was to take my milk jug of water and tie it to the center of the easel, weighing it down. You can see it hanging down behind my palette. This worked slick. The third problem is keeping your canvas or paper or other support ON the easel from blowing off. You can see I used a bulldog clip in the right corner.

It is useful to stay painting small (this is 11 x 14 canvas board). I had thought about painting 16 x 20 and had primed a board with blue (see leaning behind my chair) but it was way too big and would have taken off like a sail.

You can also see my new rolling chair/pack that I got from Jerry's Artarama on sale last week. I like it, but I can see that I still have more planning to do...as I like to have my water close at hand. Luckily Donna had a nice place for me to put it, but I am thinking a small folding stool would be a good addition for times when nothing is available.

The 4th wind problem is how fast acrylics dry in the wind! Whew! Like immediately. Even with constant spraying with water and wetting agent...I had very little mixing time on my palette or on my painting. And I had to keep my brushes IN the water bucket so they couldn't dry out between use. A very challenging day. But I learned a lot!!! Thanks Donna.

That Ole Framing Thing...

Yup...time again. Not MY favorite job. But it's show time in Florida and so time for some "presentation" ideas. The 6 paintings below show a variety of presentations...traditional and less traditional. All are wire-hung on the back.

The largest painting is going into the Leesburg Art Association month long show at the Leesburg Center for the Arts. It is traditionally framed yupo watercolor, double matted and under plexiglass due to it's size (required by this show for larger paintings). It has a dust cover on the back.

The other 5 are going into the Hawthorne Park show on March 13th which is a one-day show. The parrot is a traditional watercolor under class in a metal frame. The Sunflowers at the end is a paper painting (ala Elizabeth Nelson's style) in acrylic, gloss coated so no glass.

The one in the middle on the seat of the sofa (called Flowers and Snow Cones) is a watercolor on canvas. The watercolor is made permanent with an acrylic spray. I use 3 coats of Krylon Varnish. So no glass on that one. Apple Cake...the darker acrylic is traditonally framed for an acrylic. No glass.

Here is a close up of the "Clownin' Around" presentation. I've done it ala Bob Burridge style framing. Although this is a traditional watercolor so I had to put 3 coats of varnish on it before I glued it down to an acrylic painted canvas. You can find Bob's "recipe" for his in his last Artsy Fartsy news (google that) and then it is clear coated with Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish...two coats. This might not be accepted in some high end shows. So be sure to check before you do it. AND, it is what I called a "final" framing because you can never take this off and present it another way. This is it.

Art....as Sanctuary

Art Sanctuary

by Nikki Giovanni

I would always choose to be the person running
rather than the mob chasing
I would prefer to be the person laughed at
rather than the teenagers laughing
I always admired the men and women who sat down
for their rights
And held in disdain the men and women who spat
on them
Everyone deserves Sanctuary a place to go where you are
safe
Art offers Sanctuary to everyone willing
to open their hearts as well as their eyes

"Art Sanctuary" by Nikki Giovanni, from Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea. © Harper Perennial, 2002. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)