ARTIST LOU AUSTERMAN DEMO

Guest Artist

Marilyn Bishop introduced Lou Austerman, our guest artist. Lou is a member of the Ohio Watercolor Society, the Kentucky Watercolor Society, the Cincinnati Art Club, and the Naples (FL) Art Association. He had formal training at the Cincinnati Art Academy and the University of Cincinnati, becoming a professional illustrator for GE after graduation. He currently teaches in Dayton, OH, and in Naples, FL.

Lou said he learned from Ray Loos and Ed Whitney and always paints better when he remembers what they both taught him about staying loose and leaving the detail until later in the painting. He said he has certain rules about painting which he shares with his students: 1) start with an idea, 2) paint the essence of the thing, and 3) use good composition principles and elements -- these are:

Composition/Design Principles: A good composition should have unity, dominance, repetition, harmony, balance, and gradation.

Composition/Design Elements: A good composition should be composed of line, value, color, texture, shape, size, and direction. Of these elements, Lou said the most important are value, color, and texture.

Lou said he either isn’t doing a good job or else is doing a great job teaching because some of the same students keep coming back again and again! He works from a very structured lesson plan when he teaches, telling his students about working with patterns in values and colors, and all the important guidelines to follow when creating a painting.

Lou painted a mushroom today as his demo. Before he picked up a brush, he had drawn out small sketches of the shapes he sees, the composition he wants to create, a good value study (still a small drawing), and he even had a painting finished for us to show us what the demo would look like. He also had a few color tests to see if the color he wanted for the background would work.

Lou prefers to work wet-in-wet so the first thing he did (the drawing was already on the paper) was prewet the paper, front and back, to make sure the moisture stayed a long time. When he wanted to get excess water off, he took a squeegee and scraped it across the paper! He had his paper on a piece of plexiglass, and it was “glued” to the glass due to the amount of water Lou put on the paper. He dabbed the mushroom shape with a paper towel to keep that area fairly dry. Using yellow ochre, he painted the background shapes, working on the largest shapes first. This meant covering some of the background, some rocks and leaf shapes.

He then took cobalt blue and burnt sienna to paint around the mushroom. He cut around the mushroom with those colors. The paper was still wet, and he used more pigment than water at this stage. The blue was used just to add a different, cooler color to play off the warms in the painting.

He continued to shape the mushroom by painting around it with darks, using a mixture of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, and alizarin crimson.

He put this around the mushroom and on the dark side of the leaves. Then he used more yellow ochre to shape the leaves and put interesting shapes behind the mushroom at the top of the painting. He said he was using these colors to “sweeten” the painting.

Something that was interesting about Lou’s painting style was, no matter how many times he was using a color or a mixture of colors, he always used a scrap envelope (from junk mailers) to “test” the color to see if it was what he wanted before he put it on his watercolor paper.

When he got some color bleeding into places he didn’t want it to go (because the paper was still very damp), he took a clean, damp brush and lifted and blended the edges a bit more, softening any harsh lines or any bleeds into another area. He said when he got the background where it would “hold up” the mushroom, he would go into the mushroom, but not before. Remember, he’s painting from big to small, leaving that detail work until later when the paper is drier and easier to work.

Using a No. 4 round and a rigger brush, he began painting the mushroom with yellow ochre and cadmium red light, making it pop. Because you need to use your colors in more than one area, he put a bit of blue in some of the foliage and in the shadows of the mushroom; he put some cadmium red in a bit of foliage in the background, too, to give the painting color harmony. And for the final touches, to add texture, he scraped into the still wet dark paint of the ground and rocks.

Lou said that, when you paint something, paint two of them – in other words, paint on the same theme, not necessarily the same painting again. He showed what he meant by showing two paintings he had done when researching mushrooms.

When he was finished with the painting, Lou asked everyone to put their nametags in a bowl for a drawing – the winner would get the signed and matted painting. And the lucky winner was Howard Krauss!

Lou brought in several paintings to show his style of work - many were done by painting wet-in-wet as he did today in the demo. We had several dozen members stay behind for the paint-along after the program to learn more from Lou.






Administration Reports

Les Miley had intially opened the meeting, introducing Vickie Shepherd. Vickie filled in for Shirley Knollman today.

Mary Jane Noe (Membership) introduced two guests, Ardelle Duffy and Cindy Greene. Two other guests came in later: Marilyn Tanis and Carol Fensc.

Carol Rekow (Treasurer) reported our current balance is $7,393.73. Carol also reminded us that the November meeting will be on the second Wednesday of the month (November 12).

Rhonda Carpenter gave a short description of the most recent DVD she had borrowed from the GCWS library: George James’ Mastering Yupo. She recommended this to anyone interested in furthering their techniques on yupo. It is available for borrowing any time – just sign it out, take it home, and return it next month so others have a chance to see it.

Art Shows/Workshops

Sharon Woods Show

Kay Worz wasn’t at the meeting, so Vicki reported we had 30 members in the show and 3 sales.

Marilyn Bishop has paintings in the upcoming “Java, Jazz and Art” juried show in New Richmond, OH. The show will be one day only (Saturday, October 11 from 10a-6p), and all artwork will be for sale. Artwork will be displayed in the store fronts in town.

Marilyn also has a number of prints in the upcoming Maple Knoll show, along with Deb Ward and Mary Jane Noe. The opening reception for that show is Friday, October 10th and you can contact Marilyn for more information.

Sam Hollingsworth’s workshop at the Cincinnati Art Club (January 10 and 11, 2009) still has openings. Sam hopes to see some GCWS members there.

Deb Ward has an article in the online publication, Create Better Paintings (http://www.createbetterpaintings.com/) about her casein painting technique. You can go online to read it.

The WAC Cultural Center in Mariemont is hosting “A Date with 8,” a group of 8 artists, including Carolyn Ross Hibbard and Wynne Bittlinger. The reception is October 3 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm, and the show will be available for viewing from October 4 - 18 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm each day.

Although the show is now closed for entries, the Cincinnati Art Club will display artwork for their 40th annual Viewpoint juried show November 7 – 23.

Howard Krauss reminded us of the Tom Lynch workshop coming up next year, June 1-4, 2009. The cost is only $450 for the 5-day workshop; that is such a bargain, spots will fill quickly. The workshop is in Oxford, OH, and you can contact Howard for more information.

Howard also has been given several frames from an artist friend. He is willing to give them to a good home if you are interested. Contact him if you want some of these frames.

Critique Session

Lou Austerman agreed to do the critique today. We had four members with paintings who took great advantage of Lou’s knowledge!

1. Howard Krauss shared a landscape he painted on location. Lou said the composition and color was good, and the sky was great. He said the center of interest could be emphasized a bit more by lifting out some color and making it lighter on one side or the other.

Lou said the first thing he looks for when doing a critique is the Center of Interest. The second thing he looks for is a 2nd point of interest. For landscapes, the “foreground rule” is that you either look into the foreground or over it.

2. Ginny Hall had a very high key painting to share with us. Lou said high key paintings are hard to pull off because when you are creating your center of interest, the “payoff” comes when you put the lightest light against the darkest dark – and a high key painting may not have enough contrast. He suggested that Ginny “snap” the composition by darkening an area in the left side by generating cast shadows to take our eye into a certain area and help the directional flow.

3. Nancy Wisely brought a very fun abstract acrylic she had created by putting her disposable acrylic palette onto paper and stamping the colors down! We all saw flowers so Lou said to pick a center of interest and take us there by strengthening that one area. Other than a few stems to help us “see” the flowers, that is all that was needed.

4. Marilyn Bishop brought in a beautiful painting of pears and leaves. There was a group “ahhh” for this one. Lou said the dominance was good, she had good unity in the painting, and she had picked a great color combination. The negative shapes helped to define the shapes of the pears and leaves and it worked well. He said “It’s a keeper!” and we all agreed.

Next Meetings Scheduled

November: Nancy Nordloh Neville will be our guest artist/speaker. Nancy will give a demonstration and talk, and will stay after the main program to lead the paint-along session. To get a preview of her work, go to http://www.nancynordloh.com/. Don’t miss this meeting if you like light-filled watercolors and want to know how to maintain your whites in your paintings.

December: Sandy Maudlin will lead us into winter in a colorful way, teaching us to paint bright cardinals on watercolor paper. She will bring several drawings you can copy if you don’t want to draw your own, or you can paint from one of your own photographs of a cardinal or other favorite bird. Luncheon will be provided for us.

Note: Mary Marxen asked Rhonda to tell the members “goodbye for now” – she is leaving on her regular trip to her Florida home. Mary will return to us next year in the spring, missing all the excitement and fun of a Kentucky/Ohio/Indiana winter!

September Meeting

Administration Reports

Shirley Knollman opened the meeting with this quote from Andrew Wyeth:

“I dream a lot. I do more painting when I’m not painting. It’s in the subconscious.”

Mary Jane Noe (Membership) introduced one guest, Linda Simpson, a retired elementary art teacher who painted in oils for 40 years and now wants to try watercolors. She picked a great day to visit since she got some great bargains on art supplies from our annual art sale.

Carol Rekow (Treasurer) reported our current balance is $7,516.77. This amount will need to carry us through to the end of the year. It seems like quite a lot, but we still have many expenses that will come out of this total.

Sharon Woods Show

Kay Worz said 24 members have signed up for the Sharon Woods show. The opening reception is on Sunday, September 21, and the show runs through Sunday, September 28. Kay won’t be there to take down the show on September 29 and asked someone to take over this job. She also reminded the members that there are still spots open for sitting the show each day from 10:00 – 1:30 and 1:30 – 5:00.

Other Business

Shirley reminded us that elections for Treasurer and Membership Chair will be in November and she still needs recommendations or volunteers for the positions. The Membership Chair position has been divided into two positions, so you may just want to be the greeter during meetings to take care of introducing guests and making name tags for members.

Shirley asked about the Tom Lynch DVD that was checked out. It did not work on the next person’s DVD player, perhaps due to scratches or something on the DVD. Marilyn Bishop will take it home and try it on her player to see if she can get it to work.

Art Shows/Workshops

Sam Hollingsworth’s workshop at the Cincinnati Art Club will be January 10 and 11, 2009 The workshop will be about the artistic process, from developing resources to planning your painting and composition.

Deb Ward is teaching watercolor classes at Dunham Senior Center in Western Hills and all are welcome.

Kay Worz is part of a show at the Sharon Centre September 11 – 14. This is Kay’s animal artists group and they have painted miniatures for sale at very affordable prices. The reception is Sunday, September 13 from 1-4 pm.

The WAC Cultural Center in Mariemont is hosting “A Date with 8,” a group of 8 artists, including our own Wynne Bittlinger and Carolyn Hibbard. The reception is October 3 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm, and the show will be available for viewing from October 4 - 18 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm each day.

The Cincinnati Art Club will have their 40th annual Viewpoint juried show November 7 – 23. Entries must be postmarked by September 15. Dr. Julie Aronson, the juror this year, is from the Cincinnati Art Museum and her expertise is in traditional paintings.

The Evendale Cultural Arts Center is having a Fall Open House on September 6th from 11 am – 3:30 pm. Come by and check out all their offerings, from classes in Art History and Art Appreciation to Dance.

Stephanie Rayner’s printmaking workshop in Dayton, OH will offer 5 days for $475 with lodging at the Retreat Center in Dayton. Marilyn Bishop has signed up for this workshop, and you may want to travel with her to Dayton.

Critique Session

No paintings were brought in for critique today.

Guest Speakers

Joan Miley (Programs) introduced Megan Gresham from Maple Knoll Village. Megan distributed submission guidelines and information telling us how to get our artwork into a show at Maple Knoll. They are having their first art show from October 8 – November 7, with room for 40 more paintings! The deadline for submissions is September 24 and the paintings can be any size, any subject. 20% of the sale of your paintings will go to benefit Maple Knoll Communities Future Care Fund. If you’re interested in this show or any future shows, call Megan at 513-782-2462.

Joan introduced our next speaker, Howard Bell. Howard and his brother run Depot Square Frame & Art in Sharonville. He talked about what to do to get your paintings submitted into a show, from initial photographing your work and manipulating it through to copying it on a CD for submission. He had a sheet with the information on the back table for anyone interested in doing it yourself, or he said you can bring your artwork to Depot Square and they will do all the work for you, presenting you with a CD ready to mail off to any art show that accepts CDs of your work for submission for only $15.00.

Howard also had a price list for turning your paintings into giclees on various kinds of archival paper. We could see the paper first-hand after Howard’s talk, since he brought several samples of the papers he uses for his giclees. Anyone who is a member of GCWS gets a 10% discount. Contact Howard at Depot Square at 513-769-1139 for more information or to make an appointment to bring in your work.

Things Howard reminded us to do when photographing, copying our work:

Shoot your painting in a shaded area outdoors so you get no unevenness of lighting on the painting.

Use a tripod so you get no movement that causes blur in your photograph.

Shoot your painting without the mat and frame – just the artwork – for submission.

If you think your painting will be a good seller but you aren’t sure about the cost of creating giclees, let Howard photograph it and keep it on file. Later, if the original sells, you can have Howard create giclees using the photo on file.

You no longer have to make a run of 25 or 50 prints when you have your painting made into a giclee. You can have just 1 or 2 printed at a time, with the file kept for future runs.

Market your work as much as you can and in the best way you know how. If you don’t know much about websites, get together with friends and share the cost of having someone create a professional website for your work.

Next Meetings Scheduled

October: Lou Austerman will be our guest artist/speaker. Lou will give the main program and will also stay after for the paint-along, which is just $10 per person.

November: Nancy Neville will be our guest artist/speaker. Nancy will also stay after to lead a paint-along session.

December: Sandy Maudlin will bring us into winter by teaching us how to paint cardinals on watercolor paper. She will bring several drawings you can use if you don’t want to draw your own, or you can paint one of your favorite birds. Luncheon will be provided for us.

Annual Art Sale

After the program, we had our annual art sale. There were plenty of bargains, including books, paints, framing supplies, palettes, and much more on sale at wonderful prices. Several members brought in their old art magazines and gave them away – you can’t get a better bargain than that!

Everyone left happy and still had enough money left in their pockets for lunch on the way home!

AUGUST 6th MEETING

Administration Reports
Shirley Knollman opened the meeting with this quote from the book, Art and Fear:

“A tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.”

Mary Jane Noe (Membership) introduced our two guests, Dee Bathiany and Kay Summe.

Carol Rekow (Treasurer) reported our current balance, after payment of rent (our biggest expense), is $7,713.68.

Other Business

Kay Worz said she has only received one registration form for the Sharon Woods show. She received one more today. If more members don’t participate, it may be a very small show, indeed! We only have one more meeting before the September 20-28 show.

Shirley asked that we all think about volunteering or nominating someone for the positions of Treasurer and Membership Chair which will become vacant after this year. She also asked us to check our Guidelines and Bylaws book to see how we are going to break up the Membership Chair duties for the future. (There will be two membership chairs, with one person doing the top four job duties and the second person doing the next four job duties.)

Art Shows/Workshops

Kay mentioned the upcoming Mike McGuire workshop at the Cincinnati Art Club. Mike will be teaching August 16-17 from 10am – 4 pm and the cost is $135 for non-members, $115 for members.

Kay also noted that Zaum Gallery offers discount framing for all artists. She placed cards in the back for anyone to pick up. The gallery is on Monmouth Street in Newport, KY.

Howard Krauss reported that Tom Lynch will be coming to Oxford, OH to teach a 4-day workshop in June 2009. The cost will be about $500 per person. Ask Howard for more information if you are interested in signing up for this.

Sam Hollingsworth put out fliers for his fall watercolor classes at Baker-Hunt and said he is thinking about having a workshop in January 2009 on the artistic process. The workshop will be possibly January 6-8 and will be at the Cincinnati Art Club. (And thanks, Sam, for bringing the free books – they all found good homes.)

Marilyn Bishop also put fliers out for the watercolor class she teaches at Mt. Washington. She reminded us that Stephanie Rayner, a printmaker, is having a workshop in Dayton, OH in October. The workshop will be 5 days for $475 and Marilyn said we can stay at the Retreat Center there in Dayton, if we wish. Marilyn and Jo Hogan have both taken workshops from Stephanie and highly recommend her (Marilyn has already signed up for this workshop so maybe you want to buddy up with her and travel together?)

Critique Session

Due to the length of the DVD/paint-along program today, there was no critique session.

Next Meetings Scheduled

September: We’ll have our annual flea market of art, as well as guests from Prince Art and from Maple Knoll Village. Bring any art supplies or art related materials to sell. Also, please bring dollars so you can make change, if needed.

October: Lou Austerman will be our guest artist/speaker.

November: Nancy Neville will be our guest artist/speaker.

December: Right now, December’s meeting agenda is open for suggestions. Members may be tired of creating holiday cards. If you have any suggestions for something to do as a group in December, let Shirley or Joanie know.

Guest Speaker/Artist = Virtual Workshop

The DVD, projector and screen were up when we entered the building this morning, and tables were set facing the screen (thanks Marilyn Bishop and Les Miley) for our first “virtual workshop.” George James’ DVD, “Mastering Yupo,” from CREATIVE CATALYST, was the feature demo/paint along. Each member received one 11” x 14” sheet of yupo and set up their stations. Then Marilyn distributed a typed outline showing us what George was doing at each step and where we would stop the DVD to paint along. This was a great help as you followed along – and a great reminder members could take home.

It was an interesting and very informative DVD, especially for those who are unfamiliar with yupo and what you can do with it. George showed us how you can draw on yupo with either watercolor pencil or just thicker watercolor paints. He says he makes his marks both ways and reminded us that you cannot use an eraser on yupo or it damages the paper.

George first demonstrated a variegated wash, letting the paints run and blend without brushing them together (his paper was on a board that was slightly tilted to help the paint/water mix run). He demonstrated a smooth wash, putting down the pigment and using the small paint roller to blend and “burnish” the colors.

He taught us when to paint with a very wet brush, when to use a moist brush and when to use a brush that is just slightly damp.

He used tissues to control just applied paint, to wipe off drying paint, and to lay over paint just applied to create a “ghosting” effect. (When you roll your paint roller over the tissue that is laid down over the paint, it lifts and helps lighten the paint underneath.)

For his darks, George used a mixture of Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine Blue and a Bit of Phthalocyanine Green. He got a very dark “black” without using black paint. He said he likes to use the darkest paint to get a unique look: he puts the dark paint on fairly thickly, then when that has dried a bit, he paints over it with a slightly damp brush (not wet), to “cut in shapes.” Then he takes a tissue, lays that over the section and rolls over that with the paint roller. When he did this, he got a painted area that looked like a woodcut or a print.

George used the tissues and the paint roller to smooth areas, to lift areas, and to just lighten areas. He also showed how you can glaze over color on yupo – something most people think you cannot do. Basically, he waited for the underpainting to dry and then just lightly brushed another color on top of it. The trick is not to keep brushing and go over that underpainting again and again but brush it just enough to cover the paint underneath without agitating it.

Speaking of agitation, George stressed that it is agitation and water that takes the paint off yupo. Agitation can mean brushing over a dried area, rolling over it with the paint roller, spraying it with a mist of water or with large drops of water and then lifting with a tissue – so many ways you can work to get so many looks with yupo! He even uses stamps pressed into paint and then onto the yupo and paints through stencils.

I think some members might try more of these techniques at home. Afterall, unless you used strong staining pigments, you can wash off everything you did today and start over!

Our thanks to Marilyn Bishop for her skillful organization that made this a great virtual workshop! And remember, any DVD shown at a meeting has been purchased for the group and members may check them out. Just sign the sheet in the cabinet in the kitchen and take it home to view. Please return them at the next meeting so others get a chance to check them out, too.

Colorful MARY MARXEN!

Joan Miley introduced Mary Marxen, our guest artist. Joan described Mary as pretty and colorful, and she certainly was both in her red, white, and blue ensemble. She had even decorated the room with balloons:-D

This is Mary’s fourth demonstration for GCWS. She must be doing something right to be asked back so many times!

She mentioned that taking 2 workshops from Joe Fettingis sparked her love of color. She described herself as a colorist, and said she has about 100 colors on her palette and she wants to use them all!

She said beginners often have a fear of the white paper and will do anything to keep from starting a painting. Toning the paper with a pale color sometimes works to help you get over that fear.

Mary certainly has no fear of putting down color, as she demonstrated for us today by first painting a small, loosely handled portrait of her mini Yorkie.

Mary stressed that the faster you paint, the better it is when you are trying for a loose look in your work. If someone says it’s too messy, just tell them it’s the style – like Charles Reid with his splatters and runs. She incorporates his style and the style of Janet Rogers in her paintings.

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She brought out a color wheel and said she starts with yellow and works her way around the color wheel, using each color! Her favorite saying was, “Why use just 1 color when you can use 21?”

I think she used at least 21 colors in her portrait of her mini Yorkie, and she had to include her favorite color, Permanent Rose, which she adds to every painting.

Although it looked like she was just playing, Mary was careful in her painting, knowing to leave a little white, which she described as the beauty of watercolor. She also started her painting at the top, leaving the background for last.

She said, why do a background if the subject doesn’t turn out – just start over. She loves soft edges and softened many of her edges with a damp brush wiped along the edge of the paint, softening out to nothing in some instances.

She also used a little salt for texturing, and used clean water to get splatters and drips, tilting her painting so there were runs of color down the page. She always does the eyes on a portrait last, so she left her first painting to dry while she began her second painting for us, a lovely pink flower.

Mary said she has many quotes she likes and one of her favorites is what Frank Lloyd Wright replied when asked, “What is your favorite design?” He replied, “My next one!” That is Mary’s attitude, too, always being positive and thinking her next painting will be her best. As she teaches, she gives demos to her students and had many varieties of her Yorkie painting, and another version of the flower already painted that she shared with us.

Creating blossoms in watercolors, especially in a flower painting, is another one of Mary’s favorite things. She likes the spontaneous look of loose work and blossoms add to that loose painting style.

Although she showed us a finished painting of the flower she demoed for us today, she said she didn’t like it because it was too tight. She said she had tried too hard on it, and it wasn’t the loosely painted style she likes best.

Mary said you should not look at the previous painting when you are painting the same thing over, but you should start with a fresh picture in your mind. Her second version was much more “painterly” than the first.

Mary paints her leaves in four colors: Gamboge yellow, Cobalt blue, Sap green, and Burnt sienna. She mixes those four colors so her greens aren’t all the same throughout the painting.

She never uses black paint but mixes her own black from a selection of her darkest colors, and if it doesn’t turn out dark enough, she puts in a bit of Payne’s Gray.

Mary describes her style as “wishful meditations in color.” She transforms a subject into what she “wishes” it would be using meditation and prayer to bring her paintings to a colorful and wonderfully imaginative conclusion.

Although Mary said we wouldn’t learn anything new from her today, I think she was wrong. Those who already knew Mary learned a bit more about her gracious, giving, happy self; and those who didn’t know her as well came away learning what a special person this little dynamo in bright colors can be. She left us with a smile, a laugh, and some lovely and colorful art – and you can’t ask for better than that!

Some of Mary’s favorite sayings:

1. Don’t be afraid to be different
2. Don’t be afraid to play
3. Get to know all the colors on your palette.
4. Leave some white on the paper, working in a vignette style when it works for the subject.

And of course:
5. Why paint with just 1 color when you can paint with 21?

Administration Reports

Shirley Knollman opened the meeting with this quote from the book, Art and Fear:

“Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.”

Mary Jane Noe (Membership) distributed copies of the newly printed Guidelines and By-Laws. She also introduced our guests, Donna Cameron, Jean Godden and Nancy Wisely. Donna has been taking watercolor lessons from Mary Marxen for about one year; Jean is familiar with both oils and watercolors; and Nancy has been painting in watercolor and acrylics for about two years. She is a retired professor whose specialty is the Sociology of Art.

Although Carol Rekow (Treasurer) couldn’t be at the start of the business meeting, she said later that our current balance is $9,127.03.

Scholarship

Bonnie Rupe gave us a run-down on how the recipient of our 2008 scholarship was chosen. Bonnie has written down some guidelines for the next scholarship, and reminded us that our 2008 scholarship recipient, Jenny Shen, has her photo and some of her artwork available for viewing on the GCWS blog.

Evergreen Show – May 2008

Deb Ward couldn’t be at the meeting but sent the following report. We had 97 paintings from 47 members in the show, which ran for six weeks. The opening was not as well attended as in past years, due in part to the opening of the Women’s Art Club in Mariemont that same weekend. We may want to make sure we avoid conflicts with the WAC when we schedule our dates next year for Evergreen.

There were 73 people who signed the guest book and 3 paintings sold: two by Joan Ammerman and one by John Howe. The GCWS made $175.71 after all expenses were paid.

Shirley said Evergreen staff mentioned there were a lot of leftover postcards. This raised the question of how many postcards GCWS gets compared to how many Evergreen keeps. It was suggested that GCWS get more postcards next year, and Shirley reminded members to put them in their local hairdressers, banks, groceries, etc. – anywhere a lot of people may see it and pick it up.

Joan Ammerman asked about the possibility of having a couple of meetings prior to the hanging of the 2009 Evergreen Show to prep artists who will be in the show. We can critique the artwork, the matting and framing, and give artists suggestions for their best paintings, etc. Howard Krauss and Eartell Brownlow agreed to head up this project when the time draws near.

Art Shows

Kay Worz distributed registration forms for the Sharon Woods show that will be held in September. She will be typing up the title cards and needs that information to her by September 3rd. Kay suggested that each artist consider the clientele of the Sharon Center when painting something for the show. Since it will be mainly Mom’s with strollers walking through after a day at the park, you may want to paint something more inexpensive in price and maybe nature themed. The entry fee is $15 whether you put in one or three paintings. Also, each artist may hang their own paintings if they choose to do so.

When Kay asked for a show of hands of those interested in putting something in the Sharon Woods show, we had about 20 people from today’s group. Since it may be a smaller show than what we had in 2006, it opens up more space for viewers to see the paintings and not feel too crowded.

Kay asked that anyone who wants to send her a photo of a painting for the postcard to do so by next week. Her email address is on the registration form she passed out. Everyone also got a registration form sent to their individual emails a few weeks ago.

Kay is instituting a new policy at the Cincinnati Art Club in her new roll as President. Anyone who is a signature member or an associate member can now have a show at the CAC. She wants to open it up for more artists to have shows and take advantage of all that CAC offers: 100 life drawing sessions a year, several weekend workshops, 2 individual critique sessions, and more.

Rhonda passed around the flyer for a workshop by Carol Carter, which will be August 8, 9 and 10, at Sandy Maudlin’s Greentree Studio. There are still places open, and the cost is $345.

Maple Knoll Village is starting a gallery (and Larry Pauly will be here next month to talk about the GCWS having a group show there). They are having their first opening show sometime in September or October to publicize this new venue.

Marilyn Bishop reminded us that Judy Anderson is having a workshop July 15, 16, 17 at the Women’s Art Club in Mariemont. (See sidebar.) Marilyn sent emails to those members whose email addresses she had, and she passed around a flyer on the program. If there isn’t more interest, Judy will have to cancel the workshop.

Other Business – August Meeting

Marilyn Bishop reported that our August meeting will be a DVD program of George James. The DVD is called “Mastering Yupo,” it is 75 minutes long, and we will watch a section then stop the DVD and paint along until we have gone through the entire DVD. A sample sheet of yupo will be provided to each member, but you need to bring:

A watercolor pencil – any color
Your brushes and paints
A small foam rubber roller (like for painting walls)
A box of Kleenex tissues
A spray water bottle that makes large drops, not misting
Any stamps or stamping tools you have

Each table will be set to face the screen and we will watch the DVD together and paint along, trying our hand at the challenging techniques on yupo for which George James has become famous.

Critique Session

Mary agreed to facilitate the critique session of 5 paintings. Howard Krauss used the Stephen Blackburn pouring technique to create a really stunning night scene with baskets that needed nothing more than softening of a pure white area to finish it.

Susan Grogan’s still life was painted in soothing colors and had an unusual composition in that she cropped the top of the flowers in the vase. There were just a few suggestions about carrying the color red throughout the painting, and also warming some of the reds in the foreground.

Marilyn Bishop shared one of her latest monotype prints. There was nothing to add as it was a very strong work in both composition and color. The only suggestions were given on how to mat it to make it an even stronger piece.

Nancy Wisely showed us 2 acrylic paintings – one in a traditional, realistic manner, and the same scene done in a nonrepresentational way. It was suggested that she keep in mind where she wants the viewer to look and keep that focal area prominent by using more intense colors, stronger value contrasts, or something unique that wasn’t in the rest of the painting. Her painting had a playful quality in the rhythms of the clouds, the tree, and the water.

Mary Lou Demar shared a still life with tomatoes that needed nothing more than to carry some of the reds into the pure yellow flowers because the red tomatoes in the basket were stealing the show from the vase of flowers behind it.

Next Meeting

August: DVD of George James – Mastering Yupo
September: Our annual sale as well as guests from Prince Art and from Maple Knoll Village.

MIKE McGUIRE DEMO at JUNE MEETING

Guest Speaker/Artist
Joan Miley introduced Mike McGuire, our guest artist. Mike is a nationally known illustrator, having worked for many Tri-State companies, including United Dairy Farmer and Proctor & Gamble. He is a past president of the Cincinnati Art Club and recently retired from his position as Dean of the Cincinnati Academy of Design.

Mike started by saying he and Lou Austerman were instrumental in getting women into the Cincinnati Art Club back in 1978. Together they pushed that change through.

Mike picked out a fairly simple subject of two apples on a stand to paint today. He wanted something simple that could be painted fairly quickly and finished in the time he had allotted today. He said gouache is a slow process and, as an illustrator, he knows it takes time to complete a painting in gouache but he didn’t want to leave us with an unfinished painting today. He said apples are perfect subjects because they have a transparency, have great reflections against their skin, and it’s just fun to paint them.

Starting with a piece of 100# Crescent illustration board that he had taped around the edges, he “sketched” in the apples with gouache, just putting shapes down. Illustration board has external sizing you can remove and open up the pores of the paper by brushing it with clean water before starting to paint. He did this before he began painting.

Mike described himself as a “brush whore,” wanting every new and interesting brush he sees! He was using a brand new Kolinsky sable brush to paint today’s painting. He described gouache as the best medium in that you can put it on, take it off, change it, etc. You can mix it with gel medium and make it Acrylic. It is forgiving and easily correctable. You can make it transparent or opaque and it doesn’t get muddy when you work with the paints for a long time – if you know what you’re doing.

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Gouache was the perfect medium for him, as an illustrator, because of the versatility of the paint. He knew he often had to make major changes to paintings shown to clients and using gouache allowed him to do that.

Mike’s palette consisted of Fame Red, Burnt Sienna, Prussian Blue, Permanent Green Light, and Alizarin Crimson, to name just a few. Putting in the reds in the sketch, he then added some lights to show where highlights would be. He was painting directly on dry board and he keeps his paints wet as he goes along just by spraying his palette with clean water. At this stage of the painting, it looked “chaotic,” as he said, but he keeps working to make it look more dimensional and real. He said you can keep working a painting in gouache and knowing when your painting is done is important so you don’t overwork it. You can paint very loosely or paint tight and detailed, or use a combination of both styles. Mike reminded us that, at this stage you can still wash off 90% of the painting under the sink if you don’t like where it’s going.

Gouache doesn’t need any spray fixative when finished, but does need to be matted and framed under glass, like a watercolor. Mike uses Winsor Newton gouache which is about $8.00 a tube. Gouache dries true, not lighter or darker – what you see if what you get. As an illustrator, Mike says you really want your paintings to pop out and grab a viewer’s attention.

Mike worked a lot by glazing over areas that were dried, but he knows when he can go in wet-in-wet and not get mud. He put in the most intense red and painted tighter as he worked, putting in a dark background and shadow shape around the apples. He saved the brightest lights for later on when he stroked in some pale blues and greens on the apples and in the background with a very calligraphic style.

Painting a thin layer of clean water to blend and glaze over the whole painting tied the areas together more. He then wanted everyone to come up to see closely how he added 2 water drops to the apples.

It was crowded around the table as many members watched Mike add water droplets to give the apples an extra punch and visual interest. He reminded us of the rule for waterdrops: the darks go on the light side of the apples and the lights go on the dark side of the apples. The light hits the water drop, passes through it, and creates a shadow underneath the drop. He made it look easy.

As he worked, Mike talked about growing up on his family property where they had 500 apple trees. He said the kids all picked apples to sell and they had any kind of apple you could think of. This explains his affinity to apples, which he described as simple but happy and energetic. Painting them just makes him feel good.

Mike shared some of the original illustrations he had done for several children’s books. He painted some of them with gouache but some with Lumis dye, which is very fugitive, so he can’t display them. The Lumis dye gave him the vibrant colors he wanted and the illustrations in the book were true to the paintings in color. He used his children and even his own pet dove as models for the paintings in the books.

Mike removed the tape from around the painting and called it done. He then asked that we all put our names in a basket for a drawing for the painting! We all put our nametags in the basket Mary Jane Noe provided and the winner of the beautiful painting of apples was Ginny Deckert! Congratulations, Ginny!

The GCWS provided the illustration board and gouache paints for 15 members who stayed after the program to paint along with Mike and learn more about his technique. We appreciate his clear teaching style and his generosity in giving away a painting, and in staying after to lead the members at they worked alongside him.

Administration Reports

Shirley Knollman opened the meeting, noting the smaller than usual turnout due to the horrific weather the tri-state has been enduring since Tuesday afternoon. She said, although the rain was still pouring down outside, she saw the sun shining in the smiles of the members who made it to the meeting today.

She also shared this quote from Mary Todd Beam, an Ohio artist: “Perfect design is boring. It’s too predictable. Taking some risks give a painting personality.”

We had no guests today, but Mary Jane Noe (Membership) asked everyone to take a copy of the newly revised and printed Membership Directory. She asked us to take our own mailing label off the master sheet when we get our directory so she only mails directories to those who haven’t picked up a copy.

Carol Rekow (Treasurer) reported a balance of $10,242.52 and a current membership of 111.

Scholarship

Shirley reported that the scholarship award recipient has been chosen. Rhonda Carpenter reported that our scholarship recipient is Jenny Shen, from Mason High School. Rhonda noted that Jenny will be attending New York’s Columbia School of Art in the fall. Jenny left the day after graduation from high school for a trip to China and could not be here in person to receive the $500 scholarship today. The check will be mailed to Jenny’s parents. A photo of Jenny and some of her artwork can be found on the GCWS blog later this week.

Evergreen Show – May 2008

Deb Ward couldn’t be at the meeting so there was no report on the show. Shirley announced that Joan Ammerman and John Howe both sold paintings at the show.

Art Shows

Kay Worz, coordinator of the Sharon Woods show in the fall, said she had given information to Irene Light to place in the upcoming newspaper. Kay reminded us that we will need titles, prices and names of artists by the end of August for the September 20-28 show.

Kay is the Artist of the Month at the Banker’s Club which is on the 30th floor of the Fifth Third Bank in downtown Cincinnati. Kay has also been elected President of the Cincinnati Art Club and begins her tenure this month.

Marilyn Bishop had to cancel the watercolor printmaking workshop planned for July due to restrictions from the Recreation Center.

St. Louis artist, Carol Carter, will be giving a 3-day workshop August 8, 9 and 10, at Sandy Maudlin’s Greentree Studio. There are still places open and the cost is $345. Contact Sandy for more information.

Howard Krauss reported that the Oxford Community Center wants to host Tom Lynch and Tony Van Hasselet for workshops in 2009. If you are interested in attending, please let Howard know so he can give the Oxford Center an idea of the interest in the area to bring these internationally known artists to us. The cost will be about $500-600 each for a week of instruction. Tom Lynch can come September or October 2009, and Tony Van Hasselet can come May or June 2009.

Joan Ammerman reported that Maple Knoll Village is starting a gallery. They will be hosting an opening show in September or October to publicize this new venue for artists. They will take 20% of the price of sold artwork, and you should contact Larry Pauly at 513-782-2426 for more information.

Joan also noted that the Sycamore Center show starts July 11.

Joyce Friedeman mentioned her upcoming show at the Creative Hands and Artisan Studio at 605 Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, KY. The reception, part of the First Friday event in Bellevue, is Friday, June 6, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. The show runs through June.

Remember, all information on upcoming member shows can be sent to Sandy Maudlin to be put on our blog at (http://gcws.blogspot.com/).

Other Business

Although Dot Burdin wasn’t at the meeting, Shirley wanted to thank her for keeping our scrapbook. Shirley reminded us that Susan Grogan is now the scrapbook keeper for the GCWS.

Critique Session

Howard Krauss shared a lovely landscape painting he had completed. Although there was nothing to change on this painting, Howard still thanked the group for their input each meeting, which he felt has helped him grow as an artist.

Marilyn Bishop showed 2 paintings she had completed based on the Stephen Blackburn pouring technique she learned last month. They were both successful and very visually appealing.

Sam Hollingsworth brought a painting he did as part of a series of industrial sites. This one was of buildings and cement trucks. He got a lot of comments and suggestions for improving some small things in the painting and he thanked the group for their help. He said he will redo the painting with the suggestions in mind.

Next Meeting

Our guest speaker/artist for July will be Mary Marxen, who will give us a program on her style of painting very loose and juicy flowers. Mary will also stay after the meeting to lead the after-program paint along.

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD FOR 2008

Because one of our goals is to encourage education in the field of art, each spring the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society awards a scholarship to a worthy recipient who is continuing his or her art education. Many high school artists' portfolios were presented to the Scholarship Committee, and the quality of work proved to be outstanding, making the final selection difficult.


This year's recipient is Jenny Shen, from Mason High School, who will study fine art this fall at New York's Columbia School of Art. Her exciting work showed strong versatility in various mediums and subject matter. The committee appreciated the way that Jenny dynamically expressed herself in her paintings, also commenting about the energy and liveliness of the work.


Congratulations, Jenny! We wish you the best in your studies and as an artist.
A few samples of Jenny's work are posted below. Enjoy.

JUNE'S MEETING - JUNE 4th - 10 am

Our next meeting on June 4 will feature speaker Mike McGuire, who is the Dean of Cincinnati Academy of Design. We'll watch as he shows us just how he uses opaque watercolor, called GOUACHE (pronounced ga-wash.)

Following Mike's demo, it's critique time for members who bring in one painting to be analyzed with suggestions for making improvements - only unframed work will be critiqued.

Plan to stay in the afternoon to experience painting with gouache. Watercolor board will be provided, along with the gouache, and the afernoon class will be $10 to watch or to paint along with everyone.

See you at the meeting!

HONORS!

John Howe has recently received notice that he has been selected for signature membership in the prestigious Cincinnati Art Club, (where our monthly meetings are held.) Formerly known as Active Members, the Signature Members of the Cincinnati Art Club have shown expertise in their chosen medium in order to be juried into the honor of signature membership. Congratulations, John!

MAY 7, 2008 GCWS MEETING

NOTE: The minutes of our business meeting are posted below, immediately after the information about our speaker.

Guest Artist

Deb Ward introduced Stephen Blackburn, our guest artist. Steve is a well-known local artist from Indiana, who creates his light-filled paintings using a pouring technique. Deb said she has taken three different workshops with Steve and described him as a wonderful artist, a great teacher and a nice person.

Steve worked on two separate paintings, sharing the initial steps and types of paper/board he uses and then continuing on, showing how he adds more intense color by dropping color in with a brush after the initial pours are done and the miskit if off the paper.Steve said the main thing he wants to create in his paintings is a “play of light.” He does this by first pouring liquid miskit on dry paper (or on Crescent hotpress watercolor board).

He uses grey Pebeo Drawing Gum, pouring about a dime’s worth of miskit into a small cup, then pouring just a bit where he wants the light to be in his painting. He pours, then, with a spray bottle of clean water, he spritzes the edges of the miskit in order to get it to run and merge on the paper. He doesn’t do this right in the middle of the paper, but in strategic places where he wants the whites to remain. He tilts the board or paper to help the miskit run and sprays it around, wanting the miskit to go off 3-4 sides of the paper/board and to merge (not leaving stopping points of miskit in the middle of the paper).

Due to time constraints today, he used a hairdryer to dry the miskit but he doesn’t recommend that, preferring to let the miskit dry naturally at home, whether it takes 1-2 hours or overnight. Steve also uses a Cheap Joe’s miskit pen to push the miskit around.

Steve says he often paints just from the small cups of mixed pigment and water, not even using a palette of colors. He works with an analogous color scheme to keep the colors fresh, and he always uses transparent, nonstaining colors. The cups are mixed according to how saturated the pigment is, so for today, using Rose Madder Genuine, he used more pigment in order to get more intense color and less pigment when using the Quinacridone Burnt Orange. He also needed a bit more pigment when mixing the Cobalt Blue. Those were the only three colors he mixed and poured today.

The steps Steve went through for today’s first painting start were:

1. Sketch a light pencil drawing of what you want to paint, not putting in a lot of detail but just enough to guide you.

2. Pour your miskit onto dry paper/board, using a spray bottle of water to move the miskit around on the surface.

3. Allow the miskit to dry completely – or use a hairdryer on cool to dry the miskit (too hot and it will melt the miskit into the paper fibers).

4. Wet your paper thoroughly and pour off any excess water.

5. Pour your first color (Steve started with the Rose Madder Genuine).

6. Pour your second color (Steve used Cobalt Blue).

7. Pour your third color (Steve used Quinacridone Burnt Orange).

8. Allow the poured paints to dry before going back and pouring more color on (if you want). Steve often does 3-4 separate pours, allowing them to dry in between each pour.

9. Peel off the dried miskit and drop in more intense color with a brush, blending away the color at the edges so you don’t get hard edges.

10. Continue until you are happy with the results!

You can see how some of the watercolor board Steve was using in today’s demo is still pure white with no miskit or color on it. He likes to get all the bright colors with his various pours into a central focal area and then he puts in the darker colors around those bright colors.

Steve most often uses hotpress watercolor board (Crescent brand) or hotpress 300# watercolor paper that he tapes down onto some Gatorboard so he can tilt and move the surface around to get the miskit and paint to move and run and merge.

When he got to this step, he pulled out a second painting start, to show us how he works once the initial pours are dry and the painting it ready to work on again. He had used the same three colors on this painting start as he did on the first demo. This painting was on watercolor paper taped to Gatorboard. He had gone back, after the initial pours, and carefully drawn in a more finished drawing. He also had done a color study before beginning the painting – something he says he always does for each painting.

The next step is to use negative painting in order to bring the main elements (in this case, the petals of a poinsettia) out from the background.

With the miskit off and the initial pours dried, Steve dipped back into his cups of pigment and water with a brush and just touched the color onto the paper in places where he wanted more intense color. This process of touching in more color can take a long time and takes much thinking about how you want the composition to take shape. This is the only time he wants any hard edges in his painting and then only about 10% of the overall painting uses hard edges. He thinks about where he wants them and how he wants to lead the eye around the painting. He glazes over and over, gradually darkening colors and avoiding blossoms by not going back into an area that has begun to dry. He moves around the paper, adding color to the shapes, and about ½ way through the painting, he zaps in some darks. He calls this “charging towards the dark.” This gives the painting pop and interest and allows you to paint around the shapes you want to keep.

As he adds the darker layers, he is thinking: What part is in front? What part is behind? What could be dark? Where should I add some interest? Should that part be pure white or should it be knocked back a bit? At this stage you begin to see what he is painting, but before that you just saw him add color here and there. You can look at the painting below and, seeing the three reference photos he used, you can tell where he is beginning to bring out some petals by darkening around them (see the upper middle-right side of the painting where a lighter petal is beginning to take shape).

Steve gave us several rules for pouring miskit:

1. Let the miskit go off the edge of the paper on 3-4 sides

2. Connect the miskit edges up – don’t have it stop on the paper or you will draw the eye there

3. Break up some of the white of the miskit in areas

Steve often puts acetate over a painting and, with a black marker, he traces around the painting. Then he uses the computer to remove the color, and prints it on a piece of paper he uses to create value studies. Again using a black marker to get darkest darks and leave whites, he creates a strong black and white value study to use.

He says his style of painting makes you take the time to think and he thinks most in the drawing/planning stages after the initial pours are drying.

The demonstration and talk by Stephen Blackburn was most informative, very interesting and exciting. Letting the paint move and merge on its own, without brushwork, really creates some beautifully bright and pure-colored paintings! This is a real plus to those of us who sometimes get muddy paintings by over-brushing the paint.

So many members were fired up and wanted to try this technique that we had 13 members stay to paint-along after the main program. Thanks to Steve for his willingness to share his technique with us today in the demonstration and in the paint-along!

For those members who couldn’t attend this meeting, you really missed a great program! I hope the notes help you feel like you have enough information to try this technique on your own.

This is one of Steve’s finished paintings he shared with us. He has a portfolio of wonderful artwork and also brought magazines that have featured his work, including International Artist, Oct/Nov 2002, International Artist, April/May 2001, and The Artist, July 2005. You may be able to get some of these magazines through backorders if you’re interested in seeing more of Steve’s work.

In May, you can view Steve’s new article on http://CreateBetterPaintings.com. You can also sign up for his monthly newsletter at www.learnwatercolors.com to get more information about his technique.

MINUTES, continued, of our Administration Reports

At 10 A.M. Shirley Knollman initially opened the meeting with this quote:

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso

Mary Jane Noe (Membership) welcomed seven guests and asked them to stand and introduce themselves. We had two guests from Dayton, OH, who drove down to check out our group, a recently retired principal who just got into watercolor and is loving her free time, and a guest from Germany who is just now exploring watercolor.

Carol Rekow (Treasurer) reported a balance of $9,739.68 and a current membership of 106. We have 100 returning members and 6 newcomers to the group. Eleven members had to leave for either health or scheduling reasons, but all who left had very positive comments about the group.

Scholarship

Shirley reported that the scholarship award recipient has been chosen and will be announced at the June meeting. The recipient will attend the next meeting and we will have a cake to celebrate.

Evergreen Show – May 2008

Deb Ward reported on the Evergreen Colorburst show. She thanked all the members, by name, who volunteered to either hang or sit the show. She brought extra postcards that could be picked up on the back table, reminding us that the show will remain another 5 weeks, so more postcards can be mailed out to family and friends. Deb asked that whoever sits the show do a walk-through and check that all the tags are on the walls (some have been falling off). Lois Schaich asked for volunteers to sit the show on June 8 and June 14.

Sharon Roeder suggested that future publicity of the show be held by someone on the leadership team so there is consistency in knowing when items need to be sent to newspapers, etc. She said she did send an email with information to Sara Pearce of the Enquirer, and asked that she report on our show. If you do a Google search for the show, you need to type in Colorburst, not Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society, in order to find it.

Art Shows & Workshops

Marilyn Bishop is teaching two workshops this summer. The first, a watercolor/rice paper collage workshop, will be held Monday, Art Shows

June 2, and Tuesday, June 3 from 9 am to 2 pm. The cost is $50 + $12 (for supplies). The second workshop, on watercolor printmaking, will be held Monday, July 7, and Tuesday, July 8 from 9 am to 2 pm with a cost of $50 + $20 (supplies). Both workshops will be held at the Mt. Washington Recreation Center, 1715 Beacon Street, Mt. Washington. Contact Marilyn for more information or to register.

Sandy Maudlin is hosting St. Louis artist Carol Carter, for a 3-day workshop August 8, 9 and 10. The workshop will be at Sandy’s Greentree Studio and cost $345. Contact Sandy for more information or to register. Spaces are limited to 15 students. If you love color, you will love Carol Carter’s work!

Sam Hollingsworth is teaching a summer session at Baker-Hunt Center starting June 9. You can take either Basic Watercolor or Intermediate Watercolor and it’s only $100 for 8 weeks of lessons. To sign up, visit the Baker-Hunt website at http://www.bakerhunt.com/ or call 859-431-0020.

The Colerain Artist Group will be showing their work at the Pendleton Art Center on the Final Friday and Saturday in May.

Ann Enright, co-proprietor of the Freedom House Gallery in New Richmond, OH, will be hosting an open house May 18th from 1 pm to 4 pm.

All information about member art shows can be sent to Sandy Maudlin to put on our blog (http://gcws.blogspot.com/).

Reminder: Minutes will no longer be sent to each individual member through email unless you ask for a copy by emailing Rhonda. A few hard copies will always be available at each meeting for those who need them, but please DO NOT take a hard copy if you can access the blog, where Sandy will have the updated information each month.Other Business

Dot Burdin announced that the scrapbook, which was started in 2005, is now up-to-date. She had the book available for members to look through. Susan Grogan will take over this job and will keep the scrapbook up-to-date.

Kay Worz announced that the Cincinnati Art Club website master, Jan Polk, has created a link to the GCWS on their website. Kay, the southwestern representative for the Ohio Watercolor Society, asked that any information that would go into their newsletter be given to her. This includes any bragging rights about awards or shows you are going to be in.

Critique Session

Joyce Friedeman led the critique session. Four paintings were submitted for critiques.

Howard Krauss shared his landscape of a barn and a lovely golden field with us. He also commented during the meeting that he was out painting en plein air two weeks ago and had his painting purchased right off the easel! He was thrilled, and praised the critique sessions for helping him become a better painter. It has been a joy to see Howard’s progress, and we share in his excitement over his sale.

Ginny Hall shared two portraits, companion pieces of a brother and sister. They were very well done with similar color schemes that will make them very appealing when hung together.

Janet Vennemeyer put up a soft, feminine still life of flowers in a vase on a glass stand.

There was little to change on any of these wonderful paintings. Only a few small adjustments were suggested, and it’s great to see the progress and the style of each artist. Remember, the critiques are open to each member and guest. All we ask is that you bring only one painting that is unframed for the critique.

AWARD WINNING ARTIST TO DEMO on May 7

This Wednesday's meeting will prove to be a great treat for us. Northern Indiana artist, Stephen Blackburn, will be demonstrating his unique techniques at the meeting. In the past, Steve lead two very successful workshops in this area (in Lawrenceburg with Sandy Maudlin's classes) and this is a demo you won't want to miss.

International Artist Magazine awarded Steve their top prize of FIRST PLACE and featured him in an article describing his fascinating techniques. He shows his work regularly in galleries as well as art shows and enjoys sharing his unique style with other aspiring artists.

Steve will also be teaching a two hour lesson in the afternoon after our regular meeting, so bring your paints along, as well as miskit, 3 small containers to pour from, a spray bottle, and some w/c paper. Cost of the lesson to either paint or just observe is just $10. Bring along a sack lunch, too.

--- Stephen Blackburn's exquisite SUNFLOWERS - see our side bar to visit his website.

SPRING ART SHOW

EVERGREEN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY TO HOST SIXTH ANNUAL COLORBURST EXHIBIT
Evergreen Retirement Community, located at 230 West Galbraith Road, former residence of the Phillip Meyer family, offers a secure and nurturing environment for its residents. This makes it a perfect setting for the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor society to exhibit their work in their Sixth Annual Colorburst Exhibit.

The opening reception will be held Sunday, May 4th from noon until 4:00p.m., offering guests an excellent opportunity to meet the artists and tour the beautiful facility and grounds. The exhibit will be open daily from noon until 5:00p.m. through June 15th, with a GCWS artist on site each weekend to answer questions and assist with purchases of artwork.

Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society artists work in all types of watercolor and water media, including acrylic, casein and gouache. Members meet monthly at the Cincinnati Art Club, 1021 Parkside Place in Mt. Adams.

Newly appointed president, Shirley Knollman says,"Members look forward to their monthly meetings as a way to grow in their art journey with speakers and demonstrations for enrichment. Education is an important focus of this group; the society also assists a high school senior each spring with a scholarship to help further their art career. Colorburst is a major exhibit for members to display their work from year to year."

Sharon Cranston, liaison for Evergreen Retirement Community, says "This exhibit benefits both communities by allowing the artists to exhibit in living spaces where works can be viewed morning and night by residents, their families and guests. It is enjoyed by many. This event opens doors to guests who might not otherwise get to see our facility."

To schedule a tour of the Evergreen Retirement Community living facilities contact Sharon Cranston at 948-2316, ext. 1235.