Sheldon Store Fundraiser and Mixing Greens

As you may know, I am involved in a project to make an old general store into a community center and café in my little town of Rupert, Vermont. We have formed the non-profit Rupert Village Trust to make this project happen, and while we work on our big-picture fundraising plan, we are doing a small fundraiser to help defray our immediate costs through GoFundMe.

Meanwhile, here is a quick video on mixing greens and turquoises. I just love playing with colors and extracting a big huge palette of subtle variations on a couple of analogous colors. Check it out.

Intuitive Painting at Omega

There are a few spots available in my Intro to Intuitive Painting at the Omega Institute the weekend of September 14 - 16. If you've never painted before, or want to refresh your practice, this workshop will get you into your materials and process without the pressure of making "good art". We will draw with a pipe cleaner, color with crayons, paint with our hands, collage with pretty papers, create patterns, make monoprints, and generally PLAY with the art materials in a safe and supportive environment.  Sign up here.

Collage Papers Video Series

I am working on a series of videos that demonstrate various ways to make your own collage paper. This has been such a long-standing interest of mine, as you may know from my DVD that came out in 2012. These are all new videos, and I hope to make them available for download sometime in September. Here is a little preview:

That's me on the uke.

Gel Printed Envelopes

SUCH a fun way to experiment with gel plate techniques!  Printing on envelopes is fun, not precious, and gives you the opportunity to send your art pieces out into the world. This video features (and was inspired by) the song "Checks and Love Letters", by Bernice Lewis. Lucie Duclos, in Victoria, BC, is the one opening the mail, gushing over the collage papers I sent.

Here are some of the supplies I am using:

• The 12"x12" gel plate from Gel Press
• Golden Fluid Acrylics
• A 3" soft rubber Brayer
• Cheap Drawing Paper for off-loading the brayer and for stencils and masks
• Waxed linen thread, for masking
• Envelopes

Have FUN!
And if you feel like sending me checks or goodies, like collage paper, send to:
PO Box 45
Rupert, VT  05768

Video Preview

I am working on a short video demo of gel printing on envelopes, and here is a little preview. The music, Checks and Love Letters by Bernice Lewis, is used by permission. 

Orange

The last few days I've been trying to get back into a groove of painting. With studio construction back underway and various other projects I'm working on, painting has taken a lower position on my priority list. Building momentum always takes time, and can be frustrating. I flailed around for a while, and then decided to go back to something that feels reasonably comfortable.

As a workshop assignment I often do my Complementary Colors exercise. Here are a couple of  examples, which are 10"x10":

Achieving as much variety as I can within one color is a great exercise, and it helps me focus. So I decided to play with orange on top of "works in progress" (which means works that have been hanging around, unfinished, for a while and need an injection of drama). The following pieces are 20"x20" on panel:

The colors I've used here are:

• Vat Orange
• Pyrrole Orange
• Transparent Pyrrole Orange
• Cadumium Orange 
• Dairilyde Yellow
• Azo Yellow
• Hansa Yellow
• WHITE

Plus Caran d'Ache NeoColorII crayons.

Preview of Working in Black and White

Here is a little video preview of my upcoming online workshop, Working in Black and White.

Working in Black and White

Working in Black and White is opening SOON, and there are still a few spaces available. A six week online class in which we explore everything BUT color.  Read about it here.

Black and White Study #5, 10x10"

Black and White Study #6, 10x10"

Black and White Study #8, 8x8"

student work

Land Line, 12"x12"

Student Work

Working in black and white gives you the opportunity to focus on value relationships, depth, quality of line, edge, scale, arrangement of elements, and other elements and concepts that sometimes get neglected when color is front and center.

Join us for Working in Black and White! Take a look at the supply list too.

Portable Art Studio

It's summer here in the northern hemisphere, and time to kick back a little, take things a bit slower or easier (anyone who knows me is going to roll their eyes at this - yeah right!). For me it's more challenging in the summer to delve deep into a series of paintings, because I get interrupted and distracted easily. Neighbors stop by, I have construction going on, gardening, more bike rides because of the longer days. So I put together a little kit of art materials that you can pick up for quick, easy, fun art. Art Lite. In Small Bites.

A page spread in my little sketchbook, using most of the materials in my Portable Art Studio

You can put together whatever materials you are comfortable working with, just as long as they don't include acrylic paints and mediums, which require some set-up and clean-up. The Portable Art Studio features materials that are easy and convenient. You can probably put together a kit from things you already have in your studio. Here are my picks:

A small set of pan watercolors such as Sakura Koi Watercolors
A small set of water soluble crayons, such as Caran d'Ache NeoColor II
Water brushes
Small scissors and a glue stick (any type)
A small-ish sketchbook paper that will take watermedia
Card Stock: this works great as an inexpensive substrate for small collage. Get it at any office supply store.
Some paint markers. My favorites are Posca Markers in a couple of sizes
Micron Pens or other fine permanent felt tip pens (not Sharpies)
A good selection of collage papers in a variety of colors and patterns. Include found text, your own painted papers, decorative papers, maps, junk mail, etc. Variety is key.

Have fun with your Portable Art Studio!

Lucie Duclos Showing Off my Collage Papers Book

Lucie Duclos has a new class available on SkillShare (I LOVE this site for all kinds of learning). SkillShare is the inspiration for a new format of online classes I am exploring: the series of short videos, without the written lessons.

Check out Lucie's video sample from her class:

You can buy my book here. Or make your own hand-painted papers.

Here is my project for Lucie's Class. TOTALLY inspired by Rex Ray.

Vancouver Island Art Workshops, back in April

Here is a funny video from one of the students in my Composition and Contrast workshop in Nanaimo, BC last April. It is really just still shots, but put into a "theme".  I actually did a little bit of editing and changed the music:

Here are a few more pictures of student work:

Check out Vancouver Island Art Workshops.

More Color Mixing

I am working on some new downloadable workshops that will be shorter, and they will focus on more bite-sized topics. Color mixing will definitely be one of them, and I might even divide it into two separate workshops.

This video is a sample of what one segment of such a workshop might look like. Each workshop may have twelve to sixteen short segments like this.

Please comment to let me know if there are any particular topic you would like me to address in a workshop that is formatted in this way.