Liquitex Artist Acrylic Demonstration

Linda Montgomery is an award-winning visual artist and educator formerly at OCADU and now with the Artist Outreach Program with Liquitex Artist Materials. She visited BWS on June 10, 2014 bringing with her seemingly endless samples of the current Liquitex professional line. To the delight of those attending, she also produced goodie bags of samples, including gels, markers, fluid and spray paints, as well as very handy technical references and "how-to" cards.

At the outset, Linda stressed that although acrylic paint is a water-based medium, adding too much water to the paint may affect its longevity. She presented a comparison board which clearly showed the dulling effect of added water. (Somewhat disconcerting to those of us who employ very liquid techniques!).

Linda took the time to demonstrate the application of each of the five major products: Soft Body Acrylic, Heavy Body Acrylic, Inks, Spray Paint and the new Paint Markers. As well, she demonstrated the use of various gels,mediums and varnishes. Fascinating results were achieved using the Pouring Medium, String Gel and Airbrush medium.The integration of the colour spectrum across the product line was of great interest to the group.

Five different Gessos were shown, including three quality levels of white gesso, a transparent version and  coloured versions.

The Liquitex web site has a large library of resources and useful information about acrylics.

A whimsical way with art

Kai-Liis comes to Bayview

Kai-Liis McInnes is an accomplished artist who combines a fine talent for storytelling with each of her paintings. An elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour and a signature member of the Toronto Watercolour Society, Kai-Liis came to BWS on May 13, 2014 with many stories to tell.

Kai-Liis works in watercolour, acrylic, various inks and mixed media compontents.

She demonstrated her unique method of transferring images from plastic foam cut-outs onto the paper surface, akin to stamping.

First, she created a loose background by applying paint using a small roller (brayer). Taking a premade cut-out, she then soaps its surface to ensure the paint will adhere, then briefly presses the cut-out into position on the paper. When the cut-out is removed, the transferred image is revealed. Many more will be added as the ideas gel. All will later be strengthened with additional layers of paint.

Other shapes are made by means of a negative technique, in which the cut-out, or perhaps a circular carton lid, is placed on the paper and paint flicked around its edge from a toothbrush.

Kai-Liis (her name is Estonian, although her early years were spent in Scotland) approaches each piece without a firm idea or concept in mind. The constant, though, is whimsy, coupled with what she feels about the subject rather than how the subject literally appears, and this shone through with each finished sample shown, from parading penguins, playful polar bears, graceful African ladies in dazzling dresses, to many, many, sheep - her favourite subject.

She has traveled widely, capturing ideas from the Antarctic, Arctic, Africa, Mongolia and other points.

Each piece builds as she considers the shapes she has applied and wonders what the various figures are doing, perhaps what they are thinking, or where they are going. As she pointed out, many of her paintings work well for childrens’ rooms as the inherent stories work so well for them.

While much of her work currently is in this mixed media form, she began painting as we all do, with traditional themes, including realstic works, but gradually moved to looser treatments.

Although she paints daily and exhibits widely in juried and open shows, teaches workshops in her studio and with art groups, Kai-Liis also runs Heed Farm, home to 16 alpacas, 2 Icelandic horses and a miniature donkey. The farm shop features a range of alpaca products made from the locally spun wool.

Visit her website to see many more examples of her work.

Mark Rosser Demonstration

Mark Rosser demonstrated his approach to watercolour painting, in particular his editing process, to the BWS meeting in April 2014. Working on 140# Arches paper, Mark stressed the need for thorough testing and mixing of his chosen colour palette. He worked from a photograph taken in Killbear Park, along with value sketches, he tested his colours on the exact same grade of paper.

 

The initial wash was applied over a faint drawing of the major components. Mark saved white areas by carefully painting with water in the areas that would receive pigment. He did reserve a rough approximation of the large tree which would later appear in the foreground. The wash showed a pleasing amount of granulation.

 After two hours, Mark had arrived at the above image. Along the way he showed us various techniques, such as his methods of indicating foliage. He continued to work the image, although time would not allow him to complete the work. He did promise to do so at home, and the following image is his final treatment.

 

Mark wrote:

"It shows a good example of my editing process. I have applied additional glazes to the sky and bay areas to add richness and colour depth, and to make the glowing horizon stand out more.

I have removed much of the special effect textures, which I had heavily overworked in the demonstration. We now have a more open view into the painting, and the shoreline brings the eye around to the horizon.

The dark silhouetted pine and sumac details added in the foreground build up the dramatic effect I was after, and really complete a sense of depth with colour values."

Thank you Mark for this demonstration. We look forward to seeing you at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit July 4, 5 & 6 2014.

Betty Wong featured in Artsy Shark article

How very nice to see one of our members, Betty Wong, featured in this Artsy Shark article:

http://www.artsyshark.com/2014/04/15/artwork-in-progress/

Scroll down through a few pictures of artists in their studios, to see Betty at work in hers.

Watercolour Progression Workshop

On Tuesday, March 25, 2014, BWS member Ben Lee led the first in a series of afternoon workshops for BWS members and guests.

The workshop was held at the newly expanded Framing Depot facility, 1335 Lawrence Avenue East, in Toronto. The company is kindly making its large meeting room available for this series of workshops.

Ben demonstrated three approaches to the use of watercolour on varied surfaces. His demos lasted a little less than an hour, after which the group got to work painting with Ben offering individual assistance.

First, he painted a floral arrangement on 140# watercolour paper. He pointed out how to properly render petals with the brush following the direction of the petal growth, instead of simply creating a dense wash, leaving small areas of white paper and darker areas for cast shadows.

 Next, he used a Chinese brush to paint onto regular canvas. The support had first been washed; no additional gesso was applied. He pointed out that very soft brushes, such as the Chinese brush, were best as they are soft and will not lift paint, which can easily happen with synthetic brushes. Ben achieved a remarkably soft, painterly effect.

Finally, he surprised the group by painting on particle board, the material more commonly used in construction. One side of the board is smoother than the other, but Ben had also sanded the smooth side. The board tends to adsorb paint readily and so requires a heavier application. The overall effect is one of obvious texture.

Another workshop is scheduled for April 29, 2014, at which President Shirley Scoble will lead a group in discovering the secrets of painting shadows.

David Bellamy - Welsh artist

David Bellamy is a noted Welsh painter who is at his happiest painting and sketching when up to his knees in a mountain stream or seated in the snow near the summit of a rugged ridge. He would have been in his element during our Canadian winter.

Here is his most recent email describing sketching a bridge through trees in winter. Visit his blog at:
http://davidbellamyart.blogspot.ca/
where you may view a larger version of the sketch, as well as many helpful articles on watercolour painting. His wife, Jenny, is a talented pastel painter. You can subscribe to his regular email articles.

DavidBellamyArt

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Sketching a bridge through trees Posted: 19 Mar 2014 09:24 AM PDT     I've just returned from a sketching trip to the English Lake District, having experienced a variety of weather conditions, making for some interesting and varied sketching outdoors. The best day was when I climbed to the summits of the Coniston peaks on a sunny day. I aimed initially for Swirl How, from which there are marvellous views all round, and at that level extensive snow made them even more impressive. I was perfectly happy sitting in the snow painting a watercolour sketch and sipping a coffee with hardly a breath of wind. When I moved further south along the ridge and looked back the southern aspects of the mountains were completely devoid of snow. Had I done the trip the other way round I'd have been really disappointed with the views northwards.     The sketch I'm showing, though, is one done in light rain, using a watersoluble pencil on a cartridge pad. As you can see it has quite a few notes and a slightly different view of the bridge itself from higher up, at the top of the page. From my position below the falls the bridge was mainly obscured by branches - in summer it would have been impossible to see, but by moving around a little I was able to piece together the main bridge structure, reducing the number of branches.     I then moved higher up, almost on a level with the bridge, and drew in the details as seen at the top of the page. This explained the structure of its rather unusual, but attractive shape, and was helpful even though the perspective was naturally quite different from the first drawing. I backed it up with photographs, but this is a case which clearly shows the advantage of a drawing, both for the main overall subject, and those little bits of detail that can lend an authentic feeling to your work.     You can find the lovely old bridge on the track up to the Coniston Coppermines Valley, where it levels out, but take care as there are steep and deep drops into Church Beck. I'm glad to say that I've now handed my book on painting winter landscapes over to my publisher, to be published in the autumn, but this one sketch gives you a good idea of the advantages of getting out there before all that dreaded greenery arrives! [With thanks to David Bellamy)

Luminosity 2014 - Call to Artists

Bayview Watercolour Society

Call to Artists

Luminosity 2014

April 29 – May 4, 2014

McKay  Gallery

197 Main Street, Unionville, On L3R 2G8

Closing date for Entries:  Midnight April 14, 2014

Juror:  Rosalind Smith

It is spring again, at least in our Bayview Watercolour Society schedule, and we are calling for entries to our Luminosity 2014 show at the McKay Gallery in Unionville.   Luminosity is always a well-attended show in a familiar setting for our group and we hope as many members as possible will enter.  

Luminosity will be juried at the McKay on Monday, April 28^th and hung immediately following.  Any member whose paintings are not accepted will be called, and the work may be picked up that afternoon, April 28^th or the following morning, Tuesday, April 29^th.  

Download complete information (PDF)

 

Impressions of the Heart Slideshow

Hope you all enjoy watching this short slideshow of our Impressions of the Heart juried show which is currently on exhibition at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

If unable to view on your equipment, please use the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/v/pZ3gRomOtgI

Impressions of the Heart Exhibition is Open

Our Impressions of the Heart Juried exhibition opens today at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. It will be running until March 2. Please go and visit to see the paintings in person. Its a great exhibition! All the paintings are for sale. If you are interested in any painting please e mail bayviewwatercolour@gmail.com

Here are a few quick photos of the exhibition

Congratulations to all the Award Winners

The Framing Depot Gold Award for Best In Show..... Ona Kingdon for 'Craft-Ted with love'

The Framing Depot Silver Award for Reserve Best In Show... Stella Dai for 'Belfast Harbour, Maine'

The Studio Six Framing and Art Supplies Award... Betty Wong for 'Hope'

The DeSerres Award #1 ... KyoungReal Youn for ' Crystal Glass 1'

The DeSerres Award #2... Pauline Guindon for ' The Coffee House'

The Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra Award... Irene Hung for 'Love Sealed with a Kiss'

Honorable Mentions: Petra Burgmann for 'Cabbagetown Rose'
                                   Vicky To for 'Mirror'
                                   Shahla Taghavi for 'Calm of Nature'
                                   Shirley Robertson for 'Fishing Ropes'

Impressions of the Heart Exhibition publicity

I hope many of our readers will be able to attend the exhibition which will begin in just over a weeks time and continue throught February

Publicity for Impressions of the Heart Exhibition

 Our exhibition has now been juried and will be hung at the theatre on February 3rd. Please use this electronic brochure to let family and friends know about it.

December's video of the month

Holiday time is fast approaching. I thought this would be a fun demo for you to try for your holiday cards. Enjoy

If unable to view on your equipment, please follow this link:
http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/TnBfHRN9jVc&source=uds

November's video of the month

Hope you enjoy this months video by Mark Mehaffy. He demonstrates how to work with acrylics to create a moody landscape painting step by step, using a "mother color" and a narrow range of values with a dominant hue and temperature. Use Mark's lessons to create paintings full of subtle drama—perfect for early morning or evening settings, rain, mist or snowy skies.

If the video does not appear, please follow this link:
http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/OhoBQlo3A-4&source=uds

Artists Helping Artists blog radio

Here is the link to a great blog radio show co hosted by a great friend of mine all about entering your art in competitions. Its worth listening too... lots of great hints and tips

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistshelpingartists/2013/10/10/how-art-contests-can-dramatically-change-your-art-career

Octobers Video of the month

Here is a great demo by John Salminen on how to use a magic eraser to lift watercolour paint.

Try it for yourself! You can buy Magic erasers in most food and grocery stores.

If the video does not appear, please use this link:
http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/mSA6R5lXMag&source=uds