August 11--Beginning Critique & Through the Water -- New Location

As I was out walking this morning there was just a hint of a taste of a bit of a cooler feeling in the air, and I realized fall is actually headed our way. We still have a few weeks of warm weather to come, and I hope some more rain, but fall is waiting in the wings! 

So, are you ready to settle down and start to paint again? I know I am.

This week we're going to have a beginning critique. We've come to think of a critique as a way to end a class or workshop but Iet's shift our thinking a bit. What is a critique meant to accomplish? I think it should be a means to keep or get you moving. I often talk about finding the "point of friction", that place where as you let out the clutch the engine engages, so look over the work you plan to bring and see where you think you'd like to go. Usually that means finding the place where you need to know or need to grow. We'll certainly look at each piece with an eye to improving it, if you're still in the process of working on it, but try to paint the 'big picture', too. 

Rock photo to use in class.

Then I'll do a lecture and demonstration about how to paint underwater rocks. If you would like to, you have  permission to copy and print the photograph here and use it for the class lesson. We'll examine the way the colors change in and out of the water, how the edges shift and the values mute when the rock is beneath the water. There's a bit more to it--things like refraction and ripples and light patterns, but come to the class to learn about those! 

Please RSVP (clickable link) if you haven't already. The class is $25.00 and you may pay at the door. 

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Now for the big news: we're going to start meeting in a NEW LOCATION this week!

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We will be meeting in a nice room inside Christ Community Fellowship, 5908 Anaheim Avenue NE, located off of San Pedro north of Paseo del Norte Blvd. So many of you responded positively to the idea of relocating to a more central spot that I’m even more enthused than I was about this change. 

The classroom is quiet and private, has plenty of tables and chairs, a nice little kitchen for coffee and tea (plus a microwave if you want to heat your lunch), and the parking gives us easy access. You can come via Interstate-25 or travel on surface streets. If you plan to come to this class, let me know and I'll email directions. 

Class will be the same time as always 11:30-2:30. I'll open the classroom around 11:00 if you'd like to come and set up ahead of time. 

See you Thursday!
Deborah

May 26--Final Critique and Class Potluck

You're invited to our final critique and class potluck. This will mark the end of our current session, so come ready to show your work from class and anything else you want to share with us. We'll have our usual class potluck brunch, too. Bring along a dish to share. We always have such interesting food! 

First, let's talk about what, in my opinion, a critique is meant to be. It's not necessarily a detailed analysis of each painting done one at a time, although in some instances that may come about. Instead, I prefer it to look at a body of work. This gives us a chance to see the progression of ideas through several paintings, noting things you're obviously enjoying and doing well, as well as the spots that have challenged you and may need more attention. This is why it's unwise to bring only the paintings you deem successful or finished--sometimes there are gems of information in those pieces that make us squirm. I see my role as supportive, helping you to grow and move on in your pursuits, whether you're a professional or amateur painter. Even two or three paintings will reveal a lot, although more are welcome and definitely reveal even more about your art journey. Don't hesitate to bring along work I've seen, and even pieces that have been viewed in previous critiques, framed or unframed, if you believe they will help illustrate your progress as a whole. 

What you won't get at one of my critiques is criticism. By that I mean no one is there to pass severe judgment or find fault with your work, disparage or denigrate what you're doing! I look at a critique as an opportunity to help you find the "point of friction." That's the place where, as you let the clutch out the gears engage and the vehicle moves forward. Finding this place takes a critic that you trust, someone you know has your success in mind and wants you to move forward, but understands that this can be complex and requires an artful touch. I don't want to grind the gears or fail to get you into gear, if you understand the metaphor.  

It's easiest if your paintings are ready to lean against the wall, already taped on a board so that you don't have to laboriously remove a lot of packaging or tape them up to view. We've found the Clearbags are great for transporting artwork, and wonderful to view paintings you're holding in your own hands, but not that great for the critique because of the reflections.

I think it's a good idea to spend some time thinking back over this session, as you prepare your paintings, to analyze which classes seemed to inspire you most and why.  This session has been so fractured by various intervening events (the classroom not being available, my son's wedding, etc.) that it's hard to recall what we did back in March, so here are the topics we studied:

1. Rocks Under Water
2. Stylized Negative Trees
3. Jigsaw Painting
4. Ten Minute Challenge
5. Be Inspired by: David Lloyd (interiors)
6. Seascapes
7. Mapping Movement
8. Memory Painting

Of course, you can review the classes here on the blog by simply going backwards. Please feel free to bring anything you would like to have considered as part of the critique, in any medium.

So please come prepared to share some food and talk (AND see some of my art from 11:00-12:00, while we eat). Then we'll take time to look at one another's paintings. I'll be your critic, not the class as a whole, and each one of you will have time to show your own work. The cost is just $25, payable at the door, however please let me know if you plan to attend. Thanks. 

See you on Thursday,
Deborah

Class 8— Mar. 10 - Final Critique and Class Potluck

Feeling Lost, gouache, 3.5" x 2.5"--in honor of our Critique Potluck!

This will mark the end of our current session, so come to the critique ready to show your work from class and anything else you want to share with us. We'll have our usual class potluck brunch, too. Bring along a dish to share. We always have such interesting food! If anyone has some paper plates to donate, that would be helpful.

It's easiest if your paintings are ready to lean against the wall, already taped on a board so that you don't have to laboriously remove a lot of packaging or tape them up to view. We've found the Clearbags are great for transporting artwork, and wonderful to view paintings you're holding in your own hands, but not that great for the critique because of the reflections.

I want to review each of our classes, so please spend some time thinking back over this session as you prepare your paintings and think about which one or ones seemed to inspire you most and why. Here are the topics we studied:

Class 1– Emulation

Class 2– Repaint It

Class 3– The Value of Value

Class 4– Vloothius’s “No-fly” Zone

Class 5– Evergreen Trees

Class 6– Snow: White Without White

Class 7– Abstract Landscape Painting: Robert Genn

Next week we'll begin our new eight-week session, so I'd like to know if you plan to join us for those classes. The dates are March 17- May 12 (with no class on April 21).  Anyone else who would like to come along is welcome, too!

See you on Thursday, gang.

Deborah