At the end of October, I had the pleasure to take a five-day workshop with William Park, a Portland artist. For five days we had morning demos, then the luxury of painting the rest of the day.
In the afternoon Bill would share artists he loves and we would have chats about the love of painting and the challenge of keeping fear out of our process and paintings.
On the first morning, we did a nice warm up exercise of making marks and adding paint. Simple, yet profound in the ability to jump start our week.
The demos Bill did were primarily in acrylics, but I had brought my oil paints and a gallon of cold wax; there were eleven of us in class and a couple other people were painting in oils, so it was a mixed bag and we were encouraged to explore and do whatever we wanted.
Bill made the rounds throughout the day, spending time with each artist for as long as they needed. Here he is with my friend Katy, who also took the class.
For the first couple of days, I just laid down paint in order to get some early bright layers to respond to in later days. No fear, just the joy of painting and playing with color.
I’m not sure I finished anything, but I made progress and came away with some wonderful early layers.
And besides Katy being in the class, my good friend Stephanie was also there, so as you can imagine, we had a great five days together.
I was invited by the staff at Willamette University’s Hatfield Library to curate an exhibit showcasing the art of Salem artists. This local exhibit is being presented in conjunction with a semi-permanent exhibit highlighting the Pacific Northwest Artists Archive, which features a collection of materials related to the careers of artists who are or were active in Oregon and Washington for the major portion of their careers. Several of the artists featured in the larger exhibit are also included in the Insight & Imagination exhibition.
A portion of the Pacific Northwest Artists Archive exhibit. The large painting is a piece by Rick Bartow.
Insight & Imagination represents the work of 23 talented, innovative, and active artists in Salem. Artists of all ages working in a wide range of genres were invited. Mediums represented include painting, textiles, assemblage, ceramics, book making, and photography. Artists were asked to submit a favorite art piece and since the work is not for sale, artists selected from their private collections or borrowed pieces from their collectors to display.
“Joyful Ride” by Tory Brokenshire
Along with their art, artists were asked to submit sketchbooks and a sampling of the tools they use to create their art, giving viewers a peek into their world of creation.
Sketchbook drawing by Heidi Preuss Grew
Last week I hung the show with the help of my good friend (and artist) Tory Brokenshire. When we first arrived at the library, Tory looked at the cases and looked at the art we had brought and said to me, “This isn’t all going to fit.” Fortunately, through auditioning, shifting, and a bit of creative magic, we were able to fit everything in perfectly.
The art is packed and ready for transport to the library.Tory and librarian Joni Roberts nervously laugh at the enormity of the project.We begin the process of putting the puzzle together. Tory is holding John Van Dreal’s “Coleen With Pearl.”
The 23 featured artists represent a vibrant and thriving art community and we are honored and excited to present their work.
A sampling of the art:
“Fetching” by Elizabeth Bauman“In Out Box” by Sandra Nichols“My Frida Bowl” by Mary Lou Zeek“There Now” by Laura Mack“Time and Two Dorothys” by Kathryn Cellerini Moore
But it is probably best to make your way to the Hatfield Library to see the art for yourselves and to spend some time at both exhibits.
Participating Artists:
Elizabeth Bauman
Rob Bibler
Tory Brokenshire
Heidi Preuss Grew
Charles Hannegan
Carol Hausser
Cynthia Herron
Bonnie Hull
Ann Kresge
Kristin Kuhns
Nancy Lindburg
Laura Mack
Kathryn Cellerini Moore
Dave Nichols
Sandra (Sloy) Nichols
Alexandra Opie
James Brandon O’Shea
Rebekah Rigsby
Susan Trueblood Stuart
Jed Thomas
John Van Dreal
Kay Worthington
Mary Lou Zeek
The show will be up through October 28, and can be viewed at the Hatfield Library during daytime library hours.
I had the good fortune to participate in Salem Art Association’s mentorship program again this year (here’s a link about my mentorship a year ago). During the program, high school students are paired with professional artists, who work with their student for several months helping the student build a portfolio of work. This year I had the pleasure of working with Emma, a sophomore at a local high school.
Emma chose to work in plaster and acrylic so during the past several months we met for Emma to prepare her boards and then do paint on them.
It was great to watch Emma work: she worked intuitively and was very confident and self-assured when it came to painting her boards. We met last week for our final session, where Emma signed her pieces and then applied a layer of cold wax to bring out the luscious and rich colors of her boards.
We loaded up Emma’s boards for transport to the reception site in downtown Salem.
Here are the five pieces Emma created during our mentorship:
Last night was the reception for all of the students and their mentors. What a fun evening!
And here’s beautiful Emma standing in front of her work.
I recently finished a four-week online class with California abstract artist Nancy Hillis. I don’t find many classes I want to take anymore, but something about this one caught my attention. The official title of the class was The Artist’s Journey: 3 Secrets of the Masters to Transform Your Painting. I was also attracted to this class because I love Nancy’s style of non-representational abstract paintings.
The class was four weeks with five modules. During the month long class, we watched video demonstrations, read written course material, worked through workbooks, and interacted with other participating artists in a private Facebook group. We even had the opportunity for a one-on-one telephone consultation with Nancy. Each week we were given a painting challenge to put the lessons into practice.
I won’t give away the class in detail, but I’ll share a bit of what we learned. Our modules covered everything from why we create art, to the importance of committing to a daily studio practice. Nancy covered a variety of topics, such as trusting yourself, the importance of practice, and allowing yourself to be surprised. She offered lots of lessons addressing various techniques, i.e., activating the canvas (making marks), to veiling and experimenting with flux (creating layers). The module on composition was invaluable, filled with game changing pointers. Module 4 covered value and how to use value to make strong and powerful paintings. The final module was a refresher of everything we covered and how to move forward. Wow. This class was worth the investment of money and time.
Photos. How do I choose which photos to share. Rather than break my post down into weekly bites, I’ll just share a sampling of photos taken throughout the past month.
About two weeks into the class, it was time for Art After Dark, the monthly Open Studios event at my downtown studio. I decided to share what I had been working on rather than display finished art like I usually do.
Palettes. I ended up with so many great pieces of paper that I used as my palette, that I saved a bunch of them!
Time to hang up my gloves? No, I’m more inspired and motivated than ever.
For the first couple of days, I just laid down paint in order to get some early bright layers to respond to in later days. No fear, just the joy of painting and playing with color.
