TEAPOT AND ORB - 7

I’ve tried to keep the roses a bit lighter as they go up the page; I can always darken them later.
I also brought more blues into the teapot.

Now I have to consider the background colors.

TEAPOT AND ORB - 6

Now it’s on to the roses and orb. This is slow going!
I worked on some of the roses and then the orb, which I think is finished – all of this minus shadows at this point.
However, I m afraid I’ve overdone the roses. Once again, all my tight, sharp lines – I’m going to try really, really hard to loosen up on the upper roses, if I can.
While wondering what color to use as the shadow, I accidentally got some violet into the pink – a tiny blob of cobalt blue violet was on the palette.
Serendipity! I had my shadow color!

Score: Painting 2, Deb 2

TEAPOT AND ORB - 5

However, I’m not in love with the Daniel Smith Genuine Lapis Lazuli. It was a lovely dusty blue the first evening, but overnight it morphed into some gray-ish blue-ish gunk. All I can think is that the gum Arabic has separated from the color, since when I squeeze it out it’s an ugly gray with a lovely blue streak. I have “kneaded” the tube until my hands hurt, to no avail. So, I’m pulling out the blue as best I can and later wiping away the very sticky gunk.

So when you look at this photo you will see the 2 colors from the same tube of paint! I double and triple checked that I hadn’t picked up the wrong tube, but there’s no way I did – it just kind of changed colors overnight.

After kneading the tube and then squeezing it out and separating the color from the gunk, it looks almost the same as the first night’s painting, but not quite. Who knew!????

And, to add insult to injury, one of my Daniel Smith tubes is solid as a rock – Genuine Smalt. I will probably cut that one open and use it like a pan. It may (or may not) be in this painting, since it’s a vibrant blue, maybe too vibrant for this one. And it does not resemble my free tube of Smalt from Winsor & Newton – not at all!

No wonder “they” say watercolor is the hardest medium to learn!

Score: Painting 2, Deb 1

TEAPOT AND ORB - 4

After getting some color onto the roses I switched over to the teapot and the new Silver Black Velvet round – wow, a big difference! After all my whining in the previous posts, I think I’m falling in love – with a brush! It is small and pointy and I am able to paint in the small spaces of blue on the teapot handily. It’s also great on the rose leaves which I’ve started.

Score one for me: Painting 1, Deb 1

TEAPOT AND ORB - 3

Since this paper is so soft, I decided to use some new brushes that I’ve been hoarding! I’ve got 2 brand new Winsor Newton – a #6 pointed round and a #8 round - plus a brand new Silver Black Velvet #6 round and an older Silver Black Velvet ¾ in. flat – all of which are quite soft.

I put all of my brand new brushes into clean water to dissolve the sizing on them and began painting in some cobalt with another old soft 2 in. flat – I think that it might be a Stephen Quiller, but the paint has chipped off.

In the meantime I made a swatch of colors I planned on using to decide on my pinks and blues. Several of the tubes refused to open! One was completely hard – a Daniel Smith color - which surprises me. Anyway, after holding a couple of the tubes under hot running water, I was able to unscrew the caps and try out the colors.

Finally it was time to begin painting with the new brushes!

And – the War began.

I always tell people not to fight everything, just one thing at a time. But, it would appear that in this painting I’m going to be fighting the paper (tooooooo soft), the brushes and the paint!

It would appear that these WN tiny pointed brushes morph into gigantic brushes when water is added. They made me think of those sponges you can buy that are shrunk up all tiny and hard but when you put them into water they expand and expand until you think they will fill the kitchen sink! The #8 round got at least 3X it’s original size! And, since all of the brushes are new they have a different feel so I’ve got to get used to that, too.

And I’m using different colors of paint that I’m not used to.

So I’m putting down the water which immediately wants to sink into the soft paper (did I mention that the paper is really, really soft?) with a very soft brush that I’m not used to which is holding and depositing more water than I’m used to and, even using the color swatch, paint that is morphing into a different color as it hits the paper - this one is really going to be a challenge.

So, right now, it’s Painting 1, Deb 0.

TEAPOT AND ORB - 2

After I had retraced all of my lines very lightly with a mechanical pencil I was ready to miskit some areas. However, as soon as I touched the miskit to the paper I knew I was in trouble; it sank into the paper. I immediately stopped and made a tiny test area on the outer edge of the paper to see how this would look. The miskit pulled up the paper on the test strip. I was in a panic and almost felt sick, having already spent so much time on this painting. I waited until the miskit was good and dry and then very, very carefully chipped away at it with a miskit eraser (rubber cement pickup). It came off pretty good, but, of course, there was one area where it pulled up the paper. Right in the middle of the orb.

(Please refer back to a recent post to see the word that formed on my lips!)

Well, I decided that if that was the only bad area I could probably proceed – WITH CAUTION! I’ve seen framed paintings with scrub outs and even small holes in them, so if “they” can do it, so can I!

TEAPOT AND ORB

Can you say PINK!

This photo wowed me (and my daughter!) so I decided to go for it.

Because I thought that this painting called for so many colors of pink, I decided to use watercolor for this one, since I have a lot of pinks in watercolor.

Once again, the painting was started from the photo and then redrawn. I decided to use some Fabriano paper I have had for a long time. In checking, this was the only piece like this I had, 300# with “Fabriano” embossed on it, but it doesn’t resemble any of the other Fabriano I have. It’s not Artistico, maybe it’s Uno which I don’t think they make any more?? Anyway, it’s a mystery and it’s very soft.

OVERWHELMED BY ART SHOWS . . .

I've been slow on the posts lately - sorry for that.

Haven't had a lot of time to paint, too much WORK involved right now with art shows, both entering them myself and working on ViewPoint.  In fact, I've been so busy that I completely forgot to pick up a painting - that's not like me (usually, anyway!)

For those of you interested, the ViewPoint entries have been given to the judge for selection and you will be receiving your notification letters at the beginning of October. 

With another busy weekend looming, looks like I won't get any painting done again.  I'm itching to get back to complete one and re-do another - posts on both coming soon, I promise!

Hang in there!

ENTERING ART SHOWS

WE INTERRUPT NORMAL POSTING TO BRING YOU THIS IMPORTANT ARTIST INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT ENTERING ART SHOWS . . . .
We all gnash our teeth when we fill out those tedious art show entry forms . . . . .
How do they want the CD labeled on the outside?
How do they want the paintings labeled on the CD?
How much do I owe?
Where do I send the CD?
How much postage do they want on my SASE?
What the heck is an SASE?
How large can my image be?
How do they want the painting framed?
What media will they accept?
Will they accept a support other than watercolor paper?
Yikes – the list can go on and on and . . . .

BUT –
As the chairperson of ViewPoint for the past three years, I can tell you that those questions are important to the people running the show.

Yes, those questions vary from group to group, most likely depending on the structure of the group itself and the size of the facility where the show will be held.

For instance, if you enter TWSA, forget any Yupo or board or pastel or collage – they want straight up watercolor on watercolor paper. It’s their prerogative – the members have long ago made decisions about what kind of work they want hanging. If you don’t paint in traditional watercolor on watercolor paper, then just save yourself some grief and don’t enter that particular show. Don’t gripe if you send them something they won’t hang and complain that you didn’t make it into the show.

Another watercolor society might think Yupo is dandy and yippee for collage and ink and pastel and . . . anything goes as long as you’ve got some watermedia in there somewhere!

Well, you get the idea.

In the instance of the Cincinnati Art Club, our main consideration is space for hanging. We can take paintings taller rather than wider, so we have a rule not to accept any framed paintings over 40 inches wide, nor taller than 60 inches high. We just don’t have space for too many huge paintings. So don’t ask me a question via email or phone such as “my painting is 60 inches wide, is that too wide?” We all learned to read and follow directions in elementary school and nothing has changed since then. Wide IS wide (no matter what Bill Clinton’s definition of IS is).

I can tell you that it really and truly matters how you label your CD and your entry form. First off, be sure to write or print legibly! When you are messy and nonchalant about your entry, not only do you give the impression that you don’t care much about the entry, but I may not be able to read it, in which case I cannot enter it! If your entry is accepted, but I have trouble reading your name or the name of your painting or your address or your email, there will probably be some misspellings on the title card, program, email list, mailing list, etc.

If you fill out your entry form with titles A, B and C but then label your CD with those items in a different order, or completely fail to label the paintings on the CD, chances are your entry will be rejected. Why? Because when the entries go into the computer program, they are listed in the order you note on your entry form. If you don’t have them in the proper order, when the judge’s CD (composed of all of the entries) is created, and the judge picks your Entry A, what the judge actually just picked is a totally different painting – not the one the judge wanted. Emails or phone calls to figure out this problem (when caught) take up precious time. A good idea would be to load your CD first and then fill out your entry form with the paintings listed in the order they appear on the CD.

When you photograph your painting, do not include the frame (and not the easel or couch or step you have the painting balanced on and not your smiling spouse holding the painting for you to photograph!) The judge wants to see the painting, and only the painting. Crop out any extraneous items. And set your camera on a high resolution. Before you mail your CD, put it back into your computer and take a look at it on your screen. First off, is there actually an image there? Don’t send in a blank CD. Check to be sure that the image is clear (good resolution) and fairly represents your painting’s colors, and the image is even all the way around.

Send in your entry in a timely manner.

And, of course, it’s always about money! Be sure to send the correct entry fee amount. Some shows are a flat fee for all entries. Others, like ViewPoint, have a schedule of fees depending on how many you send in. And make the check out as specified on the entry form! Do not make the check out to the person in charge of the show – make it out to the entity running the show (i.e., to Cincinnati Art Club, not to Deb Ward!) A check made out to the wrong entity cannot be deposited, so your entry will be rejected.

Be sure to list prices for each painting and to sign the entry form, if required.

Before you call the show chairperson with a question, re-read the prospectus to make sure you have not simply overlooked the information you are going to ask about - such as where to mail the CD or how much money to send in. Trust me, that information IS on the prospectus. Most shows will give you a check list, so double check that before you make a time consuming phone call.

Last but not least – you do not need to protect your CD from a nuclear explosion. Wrapping it in 3 layers of shipping plastic sealed with duct tape inside a sturdy envelope sealed with packing tape is not necessary. You do not need to (nor do we want you to) seal each piece of the puzzle (entry form, check, CD, SASE) inside its own sealed envelope. You don’t need to mail it in a box the size of Rhode Island. On the other hand, you should protect your CD in a CD sleeve rather than just tossing it inside a large envelope where it has surely been sliding around during its transport. The SASE (SELF-ADDRESSED stamped envelope) should be made out to YOU, not me! That is my way of sending you the information you will need if your entry is accepted.

Entry packed to survive nuclear holocaust (requiring scissors or box knife to open).

Oversized entry - note size of actual CD and size of oversized envelope (which also
will require increased postage - not to mention a lot of waste - let's think "green" here, folks!

Mailing your show entry should not be the prelude to a scavenger hunt on my end. While it is good to fold your papers neatly around the CD so that they don’t get cut open as I slice open/pry apart your envelope/carton/container - don’t fold an envelope large enough to mail an elephant several times around each of the items inside so that they all fit into their own separate space. Keep it simple, folks!

Entry with "wrap around" cubbies - totally aggravating to the person who will open it!
Keep it simple, folks!!

The best way to mail, safe and inexpensive, is to purchase a CD and DVD mailer envelope (available inexpensively at Staples and, I’m sure, at many other fine office stores). It’s 5”x5”, compact and holds everything you need. It zips open on my end and is easy to locate everything inside – because there’s nowhere for any pieces to hide! And I can open it and take out the contents in 5 seconds flat! (As compared to 5 minutes trying to cut, pull and pry apart a Ft. Knox box!)

This is all you need - slip your CD into the disc envelope for protection and then
into the CD mailer - a compact 5 in. x 5 in. with zip open.

A few B A D entries:
Left - Unnecessary large box, very hard to open, too!
Center - Large envelope folded over itself - enwrapping parts of the entry.
Bottom - Large envelope with CD encompassed in bubble wrap.

I now know to sit down armed with sharp scissors and to be prepared for anything the envelope might hide!

I’m not trying to lecture you in this post.

What I’m trying to do here is make you aware that the rules you see on an art show entry are there for a reason and you should follow those rules to the letter to ensure that your entry is accepted and your masterpiece will be on view for the world to see, not tossed into the rejection box.

THE PRECEDING HAS BEEN AN ARTIST INFORMATION ALERT. WE NOW RESUME OUR NORMAL POSTING SCHEDULE.

ORIENTAL ROSES

There are times that we create a painting that comes out on paper just the way we saw it inside our heads. This is one of those paintings.

I had started it before our June retreat week and took it, along with the old rusty car, to work on.
After messing up the old rusty car background, a bit gun shy, I tentatively moved on to this painting.
I find that the paintings that I paint in my head, over and over, are the ones that (usually) turn out the best for me.

I spent the better part of that week working on this painting, edging right up to the last day before it was complete.

I’ve mentioned before that I paint slow, really s l o o o o w, and that watching me paint is like watching grass grow! My friends were all urging me on and were very patient with me, not making a sound during some intense moments. If you knew them, you would realize what a major feat of will power that was!!

When I returned home, the painting sat on the easel for a while as I tweaked it here and there until I finally felt there was no more I could do.

I immediately entered it into a show and hoped for the best; but I knew that if it didn’t get accepted into that show there would be others I would enter – I feel strongly that this is a very good painting.
Here it is!

Oriental Roses, 22x30, fluid acrylic on Arches watercolor paper

PS – This painting was accepted, along with All Mixed Up, into the Rising Sun (Indiana) 8th Juried Art Exhibition. There were quite a few well known and respected area artists in this show, so I felt good about being accepted. However, no award for me! Oh well! My work looked good on the wall, I saw and chatted with some folks I hadn’t seen in a while, and my husband and I had a delicious dinner with friends following the awards ceremony. All in all, a pleasant evening.