"The Successful Artist: Friends of the Yellow Barn Fundraiser"

Catriona Fraser and Walt Bartman at the
18th Annual Yellow Barn Members Show

"The Successful Artist: Friends of the Yellow Barn Fundraiser"

Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery

February 16th 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

 $100 for Yellow Barn Members

$135 for non-members

Must RSVP to jordan@jjbruns.com by Feb 13^th (hard deadline)

This Saturday, February 16^th, fundraiser for the "Friends of the Yellow Barn" is designed for the artist who is serious about their art career. Every artist will receive a resource packet including a CD of essential documents and other reference materials.  Light fare will be served during the 6 hour workshop. 

The presenter, Catriona Fraser, is the owner and Director of the Fraser Gallery. Ms. Fraser has over 16 years experience as one of the most successful art dealers in the area and has earned an excellent reputation for supporting local emerging artists. She is the Director of the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival and serves on the Advisory Panel for the Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District and on the Board of the Washington School of Photography. Ms. Fraser is also the Chair of the Trawick Prize, an annual competition that awards $14,000 to visual artists from D.C, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as the Chair of the Bethesda Painting Awards, an annual competition that awards $14,000 to painters from D.C, Maryland, and Virginia. From 2009 - 2011, Ms. Fraser served as President of the Art Dealers Association of Greater Washington.

Topics to be discussed include:

The following issues will be covered during the seminar:

• Materials
  - Buying materials: lowering your costs
  - Presentation
• Conservation issues
  - Archival Matting and Framing
• Limited editions - signing and numbering
  - Prints vs. Reproduction
  - Iris Prints (Pros and Cons)
• Creating a Resume
• Building a Portfolio
• Juried Shows
  - Strategies for Getting Accepted
  - How to photograph your artwork
• Selling your art
  - How to write a press release
  - Publicity
• Galleries
  - Vanity Galleries
  - Co-Operatives
  - Commercial Galleries
  - Non-profit Art spaces
  - How to approach a gallery
  - Gallery/Artist Relationships
  - Contracts
• Outdoor Art Festivals
  - Resources
  - Display systems and tents
  - Best shows and ones to avoid
  - Accepting Credit cards
• Grants
  - DC
  - Regional
  - National
• Alternative Marketing

To reserve you space, please email jordan@jjbruns.com

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING WORK FOR OUR ANNUAL MEMBERS SHOW PLEASE READ CAREFULLY The information listed below will help our sign in process for our 18th Annual Friends of the Yellow Barn Members Show. If you have any questions, please e-mail Jordan Bruns at jordan@jjbruns.com

PREREGISTRATION This year, we highly recommend that you preregister your entry by e-mailing Patti Hatleberg at paclw@verizon.net. This will save you time at our sign-in. The information needs to be in the order listed below: Artist Name Title Medium Price phone # E-mail Address Please follow the rules listed below for your entry. Our 18th Annual Friends of the Yellow Barn Members Show Submission and Drop Off Thursday, November 29, 4 - 8 PM. Rules for submission of Artwork The Friends of the Yellow Barn invites you to submit one drawing or painting (no digital media will be accepted including giclee's) for our annual show and sale, Saturdays & Sundays, December 1 through 22, 2012. Rules for submitting artwork: Work is to be dropped off on Thursday, November 29 from 4 - 8 PM., at the Yellow Barn Studio, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md 20812. You must be a member of The Friends of the Yellow Barn. You can join the Friends at the drop off for $35. You may submit one painting or drawing. Size limit 4' x 4'. Weight limit of 10 lbs. (No digital media will be accepted) All work must be framed to professional standard. Paintings will be accepted without a frame if they are gallery wrapped and painted on the sides. Matted work must be framed under glass or plastic. Please include two 3" x 5 " cards with the following information: Name, Title, Medium, Price, Phone # and E-mail address. All work must be wired for hanging. All paintings must be for sale Wet paintings will not be accepted. The Yellow Barn Gallery receives a 30% commission on any sales. The Friends of the Yellow Barn will not be responsible for artwork left after December 22. Work not selected for the show is to be picked up on Friday, November 30, 2-6 pm or Saturday, Dec. 1, 12 - 2 pm. Selected artwork is to be picked up on Sunday, Dec. 22, 4 - 6 PM. For any additional information please contact: Jordan Bruns Show Chair, at jordan@jjbruns.com Parking / Logistics for Entries Only a limited number of parking spaces are available in front of the studio for drop off. Please be careful when you pull in or out to drop off your work. Enter through the main lobby door only. Please check in to see if your membership is up to date at our Membership Table. If you would like to join, please have a check written for $35 to the Friends of the Yellow Barn Studio. Proceed to the Check in Table. Please have one 3" x 5" card ready to hand in. You will be asked certain information if it is not clear on your cards. Make sure your e-mail address is on your card. If you preregistered we need to check your info. Your painting or Drawing will be accepted at the Check in Table. Please do not enter the entry area. Please follow the arrows for exiting the galley. Please do not stop to see the work submitted. No entrants are allowed to enter the area of submissions. You will receive a information sheet upon leaving. It will remind you of when to pick up your work. Please check our website www.yellowbarnstudio.com to see if your work was juried into the show.

Reception: Please plan to join us Saturday, December 1, from 4-6 PM for our reception. Our awards ceremony will begin at 5 PM. This will be when our distinguished judge, Catriona Fraser, an international award winning photographer and the owner and Director of the Fraser Gallery. will announce her selections. Awards: Best of Show $500 2nd place, $250 3rd place, $100 5 Honorable Mentions of $50 Sincerely, Walter Bartman Yellow Barn Studio & Gallery

Eisley Fine Art is proud to announce its Inaugural Exhibition,

Landscape and Waterways: 

New Paintings  

David Bottini & Lida Stifel

TWO DAY SPECIAL EVENT!!

1801 Foxhall Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
with special thanks to CSK Residential, Inc.

 

Exhibition Hours: Saturday, November 17, 2-7pm

Sunday, November 18, 1-5pm

 

Gallery Talk and Reception with artists: 

Saturday, November 17, 5-7pm

A popup arts event benefiting the Washington Arts Group arts education program for under-served DC Anacostia youth.

 

Jerry L. Eisley is continuing building on four decades of experience in the fine arts in Washington, DC with Eisley Fine Arts' Inaugural Exhibition.  Eisley Fine Art offers fine art and curatorial services and is available for conservation, restorations and the best in museum framing through special events, online exhibitions and by appointment.  For inquiries visit www.eisleyfineart.com or contacteisleyfineart@gmail.com.

Color Sphere
Juried by Lee Boynton
October 3–November 5, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 11, 6:30-8:00 pm
On Exhibit until Nov. 5, 2012Color is most often used for the literal representation of the visual world, but it can be so much more than that. Artists for "Color Sphere" were encouraged to explore the use & meaning of color, its capacity to communicate, and the power it can exercise.

Juror’s Dialogue with Erica Fortwengler
“The artist’s use of light and dark, design, color, and visual narrative all work together to create visual drama,” explained juror Lee Boynton. “Visual drama” was what Boynton was looking for as he contemplated the 532 works of art submitted for the October 2012 “Color Sphere” exhibit. 

Boynton was also looking for the trinity of “goodness, truth, and beauty.” Boynton defined goodness as “the successful use of media and combination of skills.” Truth as “consistency, the underlying principle of integrity, and how the piece is done.” And said beauty is “hard to define, but you know it when you see it.”

The 98 selected works stood out as having purpose and intentionality in addition to that visual drama. “A successful artist selects, edits, and simplifies – they know how to do more with less.” Boynton remarked that there was real strength in the oil paintings, with artists demonstrating a strong handling of the medium and the work showing a great depth of color. 

Boynton noted that the unselected works lacked focus and were visually chaotic. “Artists need to be aware of what they’re doing and why. Everything you do has a purpose. Visual art is a narrative between the artist and the viewer,” explained Boynton. 

The pieces Boynton selected as award winners all have visual drama, excitement, and strong color and light. These artists have excelled in “doing more with less,” remarked Boynton.Boynton selected Christine Lashley’s “Margaret” for the Gilham Award for best in show. “The direct, alla prima painting portrait is evocative and full of great color and emotion,” said Boynton.

Fall Painting Festival, Oct. 20th and 21st

Fall Painting Festival- Demonstrations and Timeline

Saturday October 20^th, 8:00 am -5:00 pm

Sign-in @ Yellow Barn Lobby, 8 am 12:00 am (get your canvas stamped)

Plein Air @ Glen Echo Park (outside) - 8:00 am – 9:00 pm

Figure @ GEP Entrance Sign (outside) - 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Still Life @ GEP Entrance Sign (outside) - 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Figure @ Yellow Barn (indoor) - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Still Life @ Yellow Barn (indoor) - 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

• Saturday Demos with Yellow Barn Instructors
• 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Christine Lashley, “Plein Air in oil”, Glen Echo Park Carousel
• 10:00 am – 12:00pm, Ann Wallace, “"Plein Air in pastels”, The Glen Echo Bridge
• 10:00 am -  12:30 pm, Gavin Glakas, “Figure in Oils”, Yellow Barn Indoors
• 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Martha Spak, “Still Life Demo with Autumn Colors”  outside still life
• 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm,  Gavin Glakas, “Figure in Oils”, Yellow Barn Indoors
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, Jordan Bruns, “ Green Painting Refresher”, Stone Tower 2^nd Floor

o    1:00 pm – 3:30 pm, Deborah Jaffe, “Plein air in acrylic” Location TBA

o    1:00 pm – 2:00 pm,  Maureen Ward, “Painting Landscape with the iPad” Location TBA

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Sunday October 21^st, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm

Sign-in @ Yellow Barn Lobby, 8 a.m. 12:00 am (get your canvas stamped)

Plein Air @ Glen Echo Park (outside) - 8:00 am – 2:45 pm

Figure @ GEP Entrance Sign (outside) - 11:00 am - 2:45 pm

Still Life @ GEP Entrance Sign (outside) - 8:00 am - 2:45 pm

Figure @ Yellow Barn (indoor) - 8:00 am - 12:30 pm

Still Life @ Yellow Barn (indoor) - 8:00 am - 2:45 pm

• Sunday Demos with Yellow Barn Instructors
• 9:00 am – 9:30 am, Glen Kessler, “How to start a landscape painting in oils”, TBA
• 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, Jean Hirons, “Pastel landscape from photos and studies” Yellow Barn
• 9:30 am  –  12:00 pm,  Natasha Karpinskia,  “Monotypes with the Figure”, Yellow Barn Indoor
• 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Perry Fowler, “Painting Still Life in Oil”, Yellow Barn Indoor
• 12:30 pm  -  2:30 pm,  Vian Borchert, "Painting the Figure in Landscape in Acrylics", outside figure
• 9:30 am – 11:00 am, Jordan Bruns, “Plein Air Pallet Knife Painting”, Location Carousel
• 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Walt Bartman, “Landscape, working on a wet ground and why”, TBA

Timeline for Submitting work and the Reception

• Framing and Wiring Artwork,  2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Location  Stone Tower 2^nd Floor
• Art work drop off for Jurying 12:00  pm – 3:15  pm, Participants will drop off one painting at the Yellow Barn Gallery

o    Artists Reception from 4:30 - 7:00 pm

• Awards ceremony begins at 5:00 pm 

2^nd Annual, Yellow Barn Drawing Exhibition

Labor Day Weekend at the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery

J. Jordan Bruns, in cooperation with The Friends of the Yellow Barn, is holding a drawing exhibition open to ALL members of the “Friends of the Yellow Barn”.  The exhibition will take place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of Labor Day, September 1^st , 2^nd and 3^rd, 2012, from 12:00pm-5:00pm.  A closing reception for the exhibition will be held on Monday from 5:00-6:30pm.  We are expected to receive 500-600 visitors each day the exhibition is open.

Eligibility Requirements 

·  All work must be created with a drawing medium (no paint!)

·  Artists must have framed drawings, ready to hang with wire on the back

·  Artists must be a "Friends of the Yellow Barn Member"

To Participate:

·   Email J. Jordan Bruns, Yellow Barn Studio Manager, at jordan@jjbruns.com to let him know you would like to exhibit. Include a jpg of one of your drawings if you would   like to be included in the promotional material.

·   1-2 drawings can be submitted to the exhibition, no size restrictions

·   Please send via email the information:  Name, Title, Medium, and Price for each piece.  Make sure that the info is also on the back of the drawing upon drop off. 

·   Mail or hand deliver a check for $20 made out to Jordan Bruns to cover promotional cards, stamps, and wine for the event.  Mailing address: 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD 20812

·   Be ready to bring a food or nonalcoholic drink item to the “pot luck” reception.

·   Please indicate if you are able to gallery watch while the exhibition is running on Saturday, Sunday or Monday, 12-5pm.

TimeLine:

·   Monday, August 13^th- Deadline to be considered for promotional materials (send jpg to Jordan@jjbruns.com)

·   Monday, August 27^th-  Deadline to be included in the 2^nd Annual Exhibition

·   Friday, August 31^st from 3:00-6:00pm-  Drop off of work

·   Saturday, Sunday and Monday, September 1^st ,2^nd ,3^rd - Gallery Open from 12:00-5:00pm

·   Monday, September 3^rd from 5:00-6:30pm- Closing Reception

·   Monday, September 3^rd at 6:30pm- Pick up of artwork

Brown Bag to Glen Echo Park

Check out the new restaurant at Glen Echo Park!  Great place to get food before or after class! http://www.gazette.net/article/20120328/NEWS/703289440&template=gazette

13th Annual High School Exhibition

I am pleased announce the participants of the 13 Annual, Friends of the Yellow Barn High School Exhibition.  Our judge, Paul Wilson, viewed over 145 works by young artists from DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Please join in congratulating the following artists:

John Blair, Corinne Caggiano, Dakota Ceneta, Adell Deriquito, Charlie Ellerman, Louise Eriksson, Iliana Flefel, Bethany Ferrick, Juliet Fessel, Victoria Finnegan, Riley Griffin, Dana Hollister, Micheila Jacobson, Sharlene Kao, Aiden Kelso, Morgan Kulesza, Madeleine Kunkle, Jake Lazovick, Jordan Levine, Jacqueline Li, Linnah Lin, Chrissy Lockwood, Marisa Lu, Annie Ma, Ayella Maile-Moskowitz, Romare Marshall, Catherin Miranda, Jason Murphy, Beniah Norwood , Samara Orellana, Nicole Payne, Jackson Schaeffer, Kevin Seraci, Charlotte Smith, Anya Ramamurthy,Martin James Raymundo, Nathaniel Rees, Colin Ross, Cherrie Wang, and Xin Wang

The High School Exhibition will take place next Saturday and Sunday March 10^th and 11^th , at the Yellow Barn Gallery.  We will announce the winners during our reception on Sunday starting at 3:00pm.  Artists, or a representative, must be present for the reception to accept any awards.  Works by the accepted artists will be returned the night of the reception following the award ceremony on Sunday.  Please feel free to invite friends and family to share in you success.

We would also like to thank all those who submitted work that was not selected to be in our show this year.  The Friends of the Yellow Barn strongly encourages everyone continue in their artistic pursuit and sophomores and juniors should plan on applying again next year.  Please pick up your piece tomorrow (Sunday) from 12:00pm- 4:00pm at the Stone Tower 2^nd floor.

I wish everyone luck in the future, and thank you again for your all your submissions.

Sincerely,

-Jordan Bruns

Studio Manager, The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery

jordan@jjbruns.com

The Yellow Barn Studio & Gallery

7300 MacArthur Blvd.

Glen Echo, MD. 20812

www.yellowbarnstudio.com

February 27^th

Jordan stopped in and suggested toning down some of the colors – “a little more mud,” he said.  He also suggested bringing Venus’ hair all the way across to the blue wave near the other face to unify the painting.  Just suggestions made by our valiant leader which I did not have time to work on today… maybe the next artist in…

Nan Fuhrman

February 23, 2012

Today brought us back into the tower to  see the creative masterpieces done by our colleagues. Wow, so much has happened since we were here Feb. 9.  We changed the Sky to feel as if a wind has swept the valley of imagination. Being inspired by our childhood literature, we  created a valley in front of a mountain range, and added houses to the front of the painting.  Little Red Riding Hood has appeared and we felt she needed a village.  The steps on the right became houses with doors and the Greek architecture from the left side was mimicked on the right.  The whimsical heart tree and the balloon tree were left as sketches to add a touch of gentleness in an otherwise frightful dream in the sky.

Marylouise Roach and Madeleine Schaller

Mariana did such a wonderful job of pulling together a mystical scene.  I love the references to Santorini – a most magical and mystical spot!  The feeling I had on coming in today and seeing what has evolved was that we were drawing a dream so I turned the round shape at the bottom left into a little boy with his eyes closed.  I also worked on the shape at the far right.  The clown-like character actually scared me, so I softened it into another dreaming face.  At Jordan’s suggestion, I pushed the mountains back a bit.  I also added a moon as well as some moonlight on the caldera.  I like the two sides with stairways leading to and away from the center, but I think there is still room to distinguish the area in the middle – either by simplifying it or making it more unified or by making it more “dense”.  What fun it was to come back after a week to see how this panel had changed!!

Nan Fuhrman

February 23, 2012

I am delightfully haunted by the emerging mystery that is portrayed in this graphics/pastel construction.  My approach was to locate muted color and form in places that called to me.. as I got moving, I began to see mythological forms lurking about and around the human figures.  The lurking forms are prompting to move the distressed damsel toward the light and safety.  There is a tension between darks and lights – good and evil? – with the traditionally sly fox, perhaps, being the eyes of protection on the dynamic scene. 

And what is that developed city in the distance?  Is it a lost city that has been snuffed out by the more organic and grounded old fashioned small town, protected by castle and by church-like fortresses?

I’ve added color and shades in various places, and I turn to others to help balance shapes, darks and lights with the intensity they need to

finish out the story.

Ellen Pechman 

February 22^nd 2012

Parvaneh Limbert, Ann Bolster, and I work independently using blues and greens, reds and purples, and yellows and oranges. We continued to strengthen the colors and texture thru out the painting.  We felt the painting needed to be lightened in the right hand corner to give a sense of movement upward in the ocean.  We work on Venus hair and feel that the next artist should extend the hair tendrils into the curvature of the waves going to the right side of the painting in order to unify Venus with the whole of the painting.  What a nice opportunity and challenge we had working together on the painting.

Becky Salzinger

Thursday, February 16, 2012 Happy Birthday Jordan!!!

Wow!  What a dynamic and colorful piece this is becoming!  I like its diagonals and the variety of shapes (both geometric and organic) as well as the many colors…at the same time, it felt to me that we needed some “muting of color” in some places, to make the remaining bright color stand out. 

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it needed a bit of depth.  An under water scene to me, conjures transparency (it does not help that I just returned from a vacation in the Cayman islands where the snorkeling was spectacular).  To that effect, I began to draw some “wavey” shapes with just chalk and a bit of pastel (can be removed).  My idea was to photograph before and after and see if I liked it, before committing to acrylic glazing to “veil” some areas and to add or render some shapes with softer edges, to create the illusion of things being “in and out of focus” (=>depth).  But I ran out of time working on the monochrome piece instead.  Next time, if I still have this impression after examining the progress of this colorful piece , I may try to execute that plan.  Of course, someone might have done it by then, and it is great, either way.  Enjoy very much and thank you all and to Jordan for this opportunity!  Have fun,

Mariana Kastrinakis

Friday, February l7

The painting certainly changed today.  Overall, we felt the orange and yellow needed to be toned down and to integrate the right side with the left.  Because of the one face we decided to insert Botticelli’s Venus.  The bottom right side was tweaked a little to exaggerate the wave and continue the fish up to top.  We would like to keep the Venus that Joan worked on so beautifully. We had a lot of fun today and will be very interested in seeing what happens next.

Marian MacKerer, Carol Bouville, Joan Mazer

Saturday, Feb. 18

Joan Mazer here again! I continued changing the colors to suit the mood of the sea as I experience it in my head. Observing the work I did today, I realize that there are still a lot of shapes that could emerge further from what is currently on the surface but that it was much more fun working with other artists present. On the other hand, a lot of people came through the gallery and commented on the color scheme!(?)

Thursday, February 16, 2012:  Happy Birthday  Jordan!!!

I was immediately struck by how strong this piece seemed to be becoming: the monochrome scheme gives it power and the elongated horizontal “picture plane” makes a powerful statement.     The challenge is to link, in some way, the multiple representational shapes (wolf, hands, monster, vines…) which are all beautifully rendered.

After some reflection on the overall composition, I thought that it needed a stronger top half of the picture.  Since I could not quite “turn it over”, as we do sometimes, to evaluate the design upside down, I took a picture with my camera.  I was able to look at that upside down.   It confirmed my suspicion that the top half seemed not to be anchored nor related strongly to the rest of the painting. 

As I began to think about a solution, I thought about a high horizon, as if the viewer is looking down (following the tracks of the person who was inspired by the “Cannes rooftops” motif). 

I then realized that adding a high horizon to this dreamlike composition reminded me very much of the island of Santorini, in Greece.  I went to the web and found some images that inspired me to include some geometric rooftops and stairways.  (for your information, see desktop file I created called “Santorini”). 

I traced a high horizon with a loose rendition of the opposite land mass that encompasses the border of the “Caldera” or the ancient volcano center that is said to be buried under the deep sea of the Cyclades.  The Island is unbelievably beautiful and very dramatic, as it rises out of huge elevations and dips of terrain of mixed rock and volcanic soil, the latter is largely black.  Its buildings and inhabitants are perched on the arbitrary ups and downs of the terrain and stairs RULE everywhere you go.  It is the perfect “workout” island!. 

But Santorini is also a mysterious island, standing  alone in its configuration among Greek isles and considered unique and “different”.  The latter possibly fueled  much of the historic  and religious lore that surrounds the island.  It is said to have been inhabited by and vampires who supposedly thrived there after being “banished” from cities.   One has to wonder if the large number of Santorini churches one sees is related to such beliefs. 

See if you think this is a fitting notion to inspire us towards the finish…

                        

On the technical side, the areas of the painting with powdered graphite lend themselves to absorb almost no other medium on top…since the gesso surface is saturated.  I found that working patiently with some charcoal/pastels would allow some darkening  but not enough to get the value needed.  I had some more success working with a bristle brush and water in smoothing out some areas that appeared almost “scratched” by the pastel or charcoal.  We also need some white of a kind that is “reversible” like white pastels (we have only 5-6 tiny pieces), white gouache or casein or even permanent white (or Chinese white) which is similar.  I will try to bring some next time.  Our alternative is to do gesso, but I did not want to start using an acrylic on this surface.  But you are welcome to differ and do otherwise, the most important thing is that it was fun!

Thanks very much to Jordan and all of you!

Mariana Kastrinakis

February 13, 2012

I added some “fur” to the wolf.  I wanted to balance some of the sienna color from the middle of the drawing.  Then, I had to think…  wolf… hunter… eerier looking woods… little red riding hood!  So, she appears running from the woods to what she thinks is Grandma’s house… but it is in another house…  oh well… a little more fantasy to this piece.  I then looked at the other side of the panel which was pretty bare.  There seemed to be a theme of “hands” developing, so I added one on an arm to “hug”.

-        - Nan Fuhrman

February 13, 2012

I guess I needed to soften some of the colors.  I did that up in the right upper corner and I tried to bring in some more blues to the top edge.  The bubbles feel lighter to me now.  All the yellows took me away from the sea, so I felt the need to contrast the yellowy waves with blue background.  Sorry, Joan, I began work on your face…just a little.

-         Nan Fuhrman

February 14^th , 2012

Becky and I went for balance and connection in the colors. In general, we felt the painting needed more blues, greens and purples, but we also like the excitement and surprise of red so I enlarged the ball and deepened it’s red. I also added more red to the fish.

Becky added a mouth and eye to the large fish and continued the wave to the lower right of the canvas. We worked a lot on the waves, giving them more depth and we would like to see more purple in the canvas. We had a lot of fun and look forward to seeing how the painting changes when we return next week.

–        Ann Bolster and Rebecca Salzinger

February 12, 2012

I was so excited to participate in this collaborative effort to be able to work together with other artist and cannot wait to see how this painting evolves and how we “resolve” it.

As I came back to the Stone Tower where I was the Artist-in Residence twice in the past two years, the task was different… I had in front of me 2 panels others started to work on, and I had to react to it. 

My plan for today was to work with color rather than on the graphite painting. The dialogue begun when the first challenge was to get into the mood of the painting. The geometrical shapes had movement, but were too “hard edge” for my style of painting. The panel was still with lots of unpainted areas. I realized that I needed to paint in order to eliminate the “white spaces” in order to understand more of what is in front of me. With a big brush at hand, and intermittently using a long palette knife, I felt that I added some vibration to the painting and my own style.

I felt comfortable with the size of the panel since I also work on large scale paintings. I can’t wait to continue the work using oil paint as well.

This has been a challenging and a wonderful new experience for me.    

- Edith Sievers

February 11, 2012

It takes a lot of paint to cover this panel!  I’m not used to such a large scale.  Even mixing paint was a challenge.  I hope you all like bold colors.  My favorite part is where the brown/orange coral meets the dark purple, so try to leave that area alone.  Otherwise, go to town.  This is a lot of fun, anyone not participating is missing out.

-Debbie Wallace

February 9,2012

Wow!  The Sea!  We were inspired by the orange and added more color and free form organic shapes.  The painting needed grounding so we added a piece of coral to take the focus away from the center. Mixing “mud” we helped to create more depth to the painting.  We can’t wait to see the additions when we return at the  end of the month. Enjoy!

Madeleine Schaller and Marylouise Roach

February 9, 2012

Madeleine Schaller and Marylouise Roach

We began our creative process by admiring the wolf on the top left.  We  become representational and then quickly decided that abstraction was the way to proceed. We moved the center focus more to the left and progressed from the existing face to a flower pot to the current abstraction.  The top left windows need some warming up, so the moon appeared and the fish fell out the window.  Whether or not this tells a story is up to your imagination.  Good luck, have fun!

Wednesday, February 08, 2012 

Hi, I’m the next artist.  I looked at the drawing as if it were a Rorschach test, and let it speak to me.  Wanting to bring out spatial depth, contrast, and negative/positive space within the vast expanse, I tried to drive a feeling of whoosh and movement across the “sky” above the hint of horizon, to start

horizontally unifying the composition.  Tried not to let it get too weird, but I did put in the tiny people, the fish, the hands, and I made the “cloud” a “creature.”  The left wave of existing tone suggested a wolf to me. Drawing him suddenly felt primal. I was at one with the cave painters--and with Marc Chagall!  Who knows if cave paintings were individual or group efforts, but welcome to our local, mystical cave!

– Nancy Abeles