Welcome Shirley Scoble, our new President

Hi everyone,

Today is my last day as President of BWS. I finish on a note of much fondness for all of you and your marvellous support during my term.  It has been heartwarming to be on the receiving end of willing help whenever I asked for it, and you have wholeheartedly embraced the changes that were made over the past few years.  One thing that has not changed is the happy mood that we enjoy together each month at our meetings..........though last minute changes to the program brought some unexpected excitement at times!!!  Everyone at BWS is well able to "go with the flow".The best is yet to come.

As Shirley once again steps into the President position she does so at a time where several big changes are about to take place, starting with our Spring show.  More details on that and other plans afoot at our next meeting Tues. Feb. 7.

I know that Shirley will enjoy all the benefits and support that being President of BWS will bring, as you continue to benefit from her enthusiasm and expertise in all things artistic.

Shirley, welcome back from myself and all of the BWS membership.  We wish you much fulfillment and pleasure as you resume the role of President.

Lizbeth

A message from Barry Coombs

Last fall, Barry demonstrated his cubist style watercolours.  The subject was a Newfoundland fishing village.

 The following day on his own blog he showed the unfinished watercolour and promised to post again when the painting was finished. He recently completed it and here are photos of the painting at the end of the demo and the final result. Thank you Barry.

    

Thank you Jane!

Jane Freeman sent me this photo today of herself with her card from us all and a print I sent her as a thank you.

Thank you again Jane for being our January Artist of the month and sharing so much with us. I hope you will continue to pop in to the Waterfront and say hi to us all from time to time.

Ona

Beauty of the Hills at Risk Exhibition!

Joan McGivney (President, North York Visual Artists) and  our very own Tony Cook  were among 30 or so artists who trekked north last July for a paint-out in Melancthon Township in protest against the proposed MegaQuarry.

On February 3 and 4, 2012, Artists against the MegaQuarry will mount their debut Toronto City show and sale, with all proceeds going to support the fight against the quarry.

Tony hopes you can come and support the cause against destroying this beautiful landscape so beloved by Ontario artists. Click on the image below to see a larger version.

Ona

Art Workshops in Richmond Hill

I received an e mail from Michelle today with some details on Art workshops available in Richmond Hill over the coming months.

All workshops take place at the McConaghy Centre, 10100 Yonge Street. Richmond Hill.   Call 905-787-1441 ext 222 or email mzikovitz@richmondhill.ca if you need more information.

To register for this program, please go to www.richmondhill.ca , call their registration hotline at 905-771-7545 or complete and return the registration form with payment to any Town of Richmond Hill Community Centre.

Richmond Hill  Winter 2012 Art workshops for Adults

  Join a renowned artist for a day of art, instruction and fun. Each workshop will be led by a different professional artist and/or instructor specializing in their field. They will share their expertise with you and provide instruction on a specific art discipline. Please bring a lunch. Sign up individually or enjoy the 1^st  three programs at a discounted price.

Art Workshop #1 – Watercolour or Acrylic on Terraskin with  Didi Gadjanski

Talented artist Didi Gadjanski will lead this fun filled workshop. Working with your choice of watercolour or acrylic takes on a brand new look when painting on Terraskin paper. See the brilliance of these paints like never before. Terraskin has a plastic like surface that does not absorb water so it stays white and the full colour of the paint is concentrated on the surface allowing the paint to be brushed around and lifted creating unique effects. Material fee of $15 will be collected at the workshop. Instructor will also provide other essential supplies with a materials fee. This workshop is suitable for all skill levels.

Saturday Jan 28                       10:00 am -4:00 pm                                               Course Code: 330188

Art Workshop #2 – Watercolour Florals with Marianne Broome

With spring just around the corner explore being more creative with your approach to florals.  Working from both your own and the instructors references you will learn how to create an eye-popping floral composition. Marianne   will provide demonstrations, and guide you through exercises on a variety of techniques such as wet on wet, that will show you how to add that special glow and radiance to your flowers.  This course is for participants with some previous watercolour experience. A material list will be provided prior to the class.

Saturday Feb 25                       10:00 am -4:00 pm                                                Course Code: 330189

Art Workshop #3 – Watercolour Monotype Printing with Herbert Pryke

 Join Herbert Pryke a Professional and inspirational artist for this exciting one day workshop back by popular demand. A monotype is a single print created by transferring to paper an image that has been painted on another surface. Adaptable to almost any medium imaginable, this versatile printmaking process results in painterly textures and surface effects you can’t obtain in any other way. Learn how to prepare your own printmaking plates, and finish two watercolour monotypes. Bring your own watercolour supplies and reference materials. No experience necessary. A material fee of $15 for two print plates will be collected by the instructor at the beginning of the workshop

Saturday March 24            10:00 am -4:00 pm                                                Course Code: 330190

Discount Package: Course Code: 330186

 Sign up for above three Art Workshops and receive a discounted price.  Prices are $53.80 per individual workshops or $145.28 for above 3 wksps (please note additional wksp below not part of discount package).

Additional Workshop  – Abstracting the Landscape with Marianne Broome

Marianne will demonstrate how to simplify and extract the essential information from a reference photo to create an abstracted version of the scene. While working with the elements of design, and choice of colour palette, the emphasis will be on composition and value relationships. Texture may be incorporated to provide an interesting foundation and different techniques will be explored for layering, glazing and enhancing the texture. Reference pictures will be provided or feel free to bring your own.

Saturday Feb 11                10:00 am -4:00 pm                                                Course Code: 355217

Congratulations Tony!

    It was announced at the TWS meeting yesterday evening that Tony Cook's painting 'Pretty in Pink' tied with Donnah Cameron for 3rd place in the People's Choice Award at the Aquavision Show.

Congratulations Tony from all of us at BWS!


Ona

Demo night photos and a video to share!

What a fun and informative evening we had yesterday. Thank you Valentine for sharing your tips, experience and knowledge with us.

Jean has sent me some of the photos she took of us all enjoying the evening together. Thank you Jean :)

It was so good to meet and share our love of art. As I watched the following link that a friend sent me today I thought of us all yesterday just enjoying the process of making art... it truly is theraputic isn't it. 

As Jane Freeman suggested this morning. It doesn't need to be a long art/painting session... those few moments for yourself to do just a wash or two really can help your sense of wellbeing as can our monthly meetings.

Thank you everyone
 Ona

Introducing January's Artist of the month!!!

As a special celebration of our 10th Anniversary this is an exciting new feature for our blog for this year. It's a chance for you to be able to get to know some world class professional watermedia artists, be able to chat to them personally right here on our blog and ask them questions by posting right here as a comment!!!

This Month's Artist is the very well known North American Watercolour artist Jane Freeman TWSA!

I hope you will all welcome Jane to our blog :)

Isn't her above painting just gorgeous. Its called  'At Attention!'

Jane has very kindly taken the time to write you all a personal message. Thank you Jane!

"I guess I am your first "artist of the month"! What an honor to be asked to begin this new adverture of yours! Since blogs are more informal this will be alot of fun for all of you as you get to visit and ask questions of different artists.

I have been painting in watercolors exclusively since the mid 1980's. I found it challenging as a medium at first but also less toxic than my oils so was the perfect choice to use while raising a family. Little did I know that I would be hooked for a lifetime and no turning back!
I paint mostly still life and floral as that is what I know and have access to. I raise alot of flowers and paint the things in my house given to me by family members from the present and past. I do not believe in painting unfamiliar things as there is little personal connection to them and I believe that shows.

I have been published internationally in books and magazines and wrote my own book " A Celebration of Light" for North Light books. I still am amazed when people know me and my work. I think that is the most enjoyable part of what has happened to me. I have met such wonderful people and artists and it still continues to be an important part of my life. We tend to be very isolated to do our work but now through the internet, I have a circle of artists whom I can call friends and that has been wonderful to find at this stage of my life!

This is another of my paintings. Its called 'Pears on Movil' 

I hope you will visit my website at www.janefreeman.com. It needs to be updated but I have to learn a few new things in order to do that so it is on hold. I do alot of step by step demos on my blog at http://watercolorist.blogspot.com/ and I am active on Facebook and Artcolony which is a blog I developed for some of my artist friends at http://artcolony.blogspot.com

I will be happy to talk with you through the month and answer any questions that I can. It will be fun to get to know you. Thank you so much for this opportunity. "-

Jane Freeman

Jane is going to take a peak into our blog each day this month so post any questions you would like to ask her by clicking on 'comment' at the end of this post. Type your comment or question in the white box. If you haven't got a blog account, choose anonymous in the drop down menu and then post your comment but make sure you write your name at the end of your post so Jane knows who she is talking to :)

So... to start us of. I have thought of a couple questions to ask Jane for you :)

1. Do you have a favourite colour palette that you use for your paintings or do you select your colours according to each painting?

2.  If you could give just one  piece of advice to someone who enjoys painting in  watercolour what would it be?

This is a unique chance for you all so please don't miss the opportunity to chat to these artists each month by being shy:)

Ona

Change of Artist for our demo on Tuesday 10th

We are in for a very different but fun evening next Tuesday as Russian born artist Valentine Ioppe will be replacing our scheduled artist Donnah Cameron who unfortunatley cannot make it due to illness.

Valentine plans to use two easels, one for him and one for one of us working progressively along with him!!!!! What an amazing experience for all you acrylic artists!

He says: "Art is a unique activity where you don't need assistants, bosses or colleagues, you can do everything from the beginning to the end from the idea to the product by yourself and you are your own boss responsible for the quality. It is difficult to compare art with architecture or movie production with the croud of people involved. "

If you would like to look at some of valentine's work before our demo next Tuesday please visit his website at www.artvalentine.com

Hope to see you all on Tuesday

Ona

An inspirational video to share!

A large part of the process of the creation of art is tied up intrinsically with an individual artist’s thoughts and  experiences. I am always fascinated how a group of artists can take one reference photo or sit together painting the same scene in front of them and yet each of us sees different things in that one scene or photo. The resulting paintings can be very varied, not only in technique used but also because of each individuals unique vision.

Pauline has sent me the link to this short lecture by Beatrice Coron which is both inspiring and captivating. The artist does not work in  watermedia but it is still extremely relevant to us because the creative process is similar for all artists.

I hope you will all enjoy it as much as I have

Thank you Pauline

Ona

12 New year Resolutions for a Watermedia Artist!

It's traditional at the beginning of a new year to make resolutions and I thought it would be fun to think about all those quirky idiosyncracies that make us artists and with the help of my friends from Art Colony and those on facebook create a list  of 12 resolutions for artists. Why twelve? ... one to break for each month of the year of course... as we all think they are just too ingrained in our very being to stand a chance of us changing even if we wanted to... so 

 

what do you think?

 12 New year Resolutions for a watermedia artist!

1. I will try not to be late for a meeting or appointment because I suddenly knew exactly what that important detail of my latest painting was that I just had to fix it while it was fresh in my mind.

2. When I go out, I will refrain from always stopping and gazing at the world around me especially when I’m standing in the entrance of a public building or at the top or bottom of the escalator.

3. I will place my tea/coffee or other beverage on the opposite side to my paint water with a saucer  over the top.

4. I will not worry so much about the tidiness of my studio space and explain my deplorably bad housekeeping by saying, "it's a work-in-progress..."

5. I will refrain from using my calming strategy (reaching for my favourite softest brush and stroking against my cheek or hand while I think about how to fix the latest mistake) on the cat, dog or any other family members as it doesn’t seem to help me to fix their mistakes!

6. I will try my hardest not to stare at people in a queue as I break their faces up into shadows and lines, colours and shapes and look for colours under the skin tones.

7. I will not bore my family by exclaiming that’s not just yellow that’s  raw sienna with a hint of quin gold and then glazed with a very pale wash of brown madder

8. I will not drive with a camera on the steering wheel to catch pieces of landscape and I will also pull over if I see something beautiful instead of driving all over the road as I gaze out my window!

9. I WILL stop and take a photo no matter what...instead of grieving over it, 10 miles down the road!!

10. I will remember to take off my coat before I start painting and end up getting the paint all over my sleeves!

11. I will not keep my eraser next to my healthy carrot stick snacks while sketching plein aire

12. I will market my latest abstract watercolour poured white socks as designer label originals and not just throw them in the washing machine.

lets all hope that 2012 will be filled with friendship, happiness and bucket loads of creativity. Happy New Year and see you all soon!

Ona