Holiday Greeting 2016 (PRESENTS::PRESENCE)

In each of my two painting classes we draw names...at least those artists who have the extra time and inclination at this busiest time of the year.  The idea is to send a handmade watercolor greeting to the person whose name you select.  I made two identical cards, worked simultaneously, side by side, on my support board to send to the two names I had drawn.  Gift boxes are a tough subject, as they readily demonstrate your knowledge and skill with two point perspective.  Each artist brought a pre-wrapped box.  We assembled them into a grand pile and used our view-finders to crop and create pleasing compositions.  Over the years I have received some incredibly beautiful cards and this year was no exception. 

While gift boxes are certainly a viable subject, they imply a bit of the shallow commercialism that seizes us this beautiful time of year.  And yet, they are so beautiful, so colorful, so magical, so playful.  While working on them, I considered the notion of presents::presence.  While each of us probably gave a few presents, and even received a few, the notion of PRESENCE is the quality that I aim for.  I have noticed that most of the people I know and love are supremely capable of PRESENCE in the doing of what moves them.  I guess we call it passion.  And to be present in the moment, whether visiting with friends and family, or while pursuing our passions, is the gift I wish for all.....and for myself.

S. and C.

S. and C.   watercolor   7 x 5

is a small monochromatic work in watercolor done on a Strathmore watercolor card.  The card was given to our son S. as a wedding card.  He and his bride C. were married in  September in a remote location near Pisgah National Park in North Carolina.  Family and close friends stayed in cabins near a stream....we hiked, played ball and floated in the tubes in the days previous to the nuptials which were held on a sandy beach.  It was so very lovely!

I have made these cards for each of our sons...and I tend to diddle way too long on them...I guess in search of perfection.  Painting family members is always more restrictive, as they are so much more precious.  This time I chose to use only brown and am satisfied with the result.  The card was taped to the masonite support both to keep it flat and to create a border when complete.  The artists' tape these days is way too sticky.  I have been using painters' tape (the blue or the green kind) instead, and always rub the tape on my clothing to reduce its tack.  Even then, the nap on the paper is roughed up on its removal.  A slight burnishing with a bone folder can smooth it down again.

Congratulations S and C!

Holiday Greetings....

in the mailbox are another of the perks of the season.  My spirit is uplifted each day as I sort through the cards from those whose lives have touched our own.  I am lucky to be on the lists of a few artists who continue to craft personal greetings. That is always such a treat!  In addition, we exchange names in each of the classes for those willing to spend time on such a project.  (And those who choose not to participate are always always forgiven and, in fact, complimented on their ability to say "no" in this season of way-too-much-to-do.) The two I received this year were both complete surprises and works of wonder....I realized the tenderness of time spent in each effort.  I am amazed and pleased....these will be keepers.  The cardinal by Jackie Roberts has been worked on 140# watercolor paper to a standard envelope size and folded in half.  It appears that Carol Weigand's was worked on a watercolor postcard whose edges were taped down with artists' tape....this card was then mounted on a piece of colorful card stock which had been cut to a standard envelope size.  The taped edges became a crisp border. Carol attended my demo at Summit Artspace early in the month and I distinctly remember someone taking photos.  She has translated this photo into a charming little work.  While individual paintings would be out of the question for cards, there are other possibilities for sure:  linoleum printing; linoleum printing on printed paper; scanned and printed images on card stock; assemblages from craft supplies and rubber stamping.  Thanks to: Ann Emmitt,  Susan Mencini, Mo Mosyjowski,  Janet Neubert and Delores Zink for their handcrafted cards!!!!

I should also mention a yearly project by artist Norma Ott. She and her husband Dave do a lot of traveling.  As a result, she has lots of watercolors done at national parks.  Each year, she makes up a calendar (at Kinko's) featuring 12 of her paintings which she presents to friends and family as a gift.  What a wonderful idea!  When her calender arrives in my box, my heart goes pitter-pat.  Thank you, Norma!

Drawing...

hand drawn Christmas card

In our DRAWING class we have a tradition before the holiday season...  we have a DRAWING to select names for a hand-drawn greeting card to be sent to the recipient.  Very exciting...a bit of a Secret Santa thing that allows for more drawing practice at the same time it excites the recipient to be the owner of an original drawing.  Yes!  I drew Lisa's name.  As time was short, I chose to work on my card during the ornament/greens lesson in class.  I brought in some vintage ornaments that had some patterns on them for a bit of a challenge.   I used a Strathmore card with a red deckled edge and masked off borders with artist's tape in order to have clean and smudge-free edges.  I began with a few marks with a red pastel in order to tie into that red border.  I worked the drawing in a fairly dark pencil.  At the end-of-class-critique, most artists felt that I needed more darks.  So, at home, I used some of my darkest leads to create a rhythm that would connect the elements.  I sprayed the card with fixative and sent it on its way, addressing it in pencil to tie into the drawing.

Contrast...

hand drawn Christmas card

A week ago in our Thursday drawing class, we brought in glass Christmas balls and greenery to set up for a still life.  Our goal was to contrast the hard, shiny and highly reflective balls with the textured greens of the season.  We all seemed to have a difficult time with contrasting values, as the greens and the balls were somewhat the same.  The overhead banks of fluorescent lights did not provide the bright sparkling highlights that we had hoped for.  In almost every case, the artists had to rework the drawings at home, adding deeper darks in order to make the drawings more easily read.  Concepcion chose two nearly-transparent hand-blown bulbs that were a gift.  The stems are visible through them.  She added a wrapped package and some fine rhythmic pine needles.  The varying forms make the drawing quite interesting.  The glass balls are very finely drawn.  The composition is quite strong.  Very successful....we all agreed.

Expressive Drawing - can also be doodling

Birthday Doodle for RIck

Last week, I lead an expressive drawing workshop at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center in Ohio. My goal for this workshop was to meander away from reality-based drawing, in order to increase the knowledge and freedom offered in drawing more expressively. We started with doodling and using line to express our ideas and patterns.....nothing too profound. I believe that artists who doodle on a regular basis become so familiar with line-making and with holding a drawing tool loosely, that it all becomes second nature to them. They have a greater freedom. "Mosaic Doodle" was an exercise in which we created a mosaic pattern on the page, then filled in each little tile with smaller doodles of varying sizes and densities. We were shooting for balance on the page. Lots of fun!